Tagliarini Casserole and Grilled Mushroom Caps

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I wanted to make an atomic age retro dinner this week, so it was casserole time.

Tagliarini is a sort of a smaller version of tagliatelle, and it’s the main ingredient in this casserole recipe from Eat Me Daily. I served it with an Italian steakhouse house salad and Portabella mushrooms with herbed cheese and pine nuts. The wine was a Spanish Temrparnillo.

I was a little nervous about the salad, since I’d never made a dressing with anchovies before. It turned out fine, and I’ll likely make it again. The Portabellas were delicious too, and it was worth the effort to remove the gills, something I’d not bothered with in the past. We used a really tasty garlic and herb cheese. I didn’t make it to the store for planks, so these were cooked on a veggie grill pan, and ended up a little messy since the cheese melted through the slits. Would definitely try them on the planks next time.

The casserole was hearty, but a little disappointing. Next time, we’ll include some additional seasoning, either herbs (maybe some oregano) or some sort of canned ingredient to spice things up. Perhaps a can of Campbell’s mushroom or tomato soup (staples of the 1950s casserole) would do the trick. Whatever we add, I’d like it to remain authentic to the low brow mid-century casserole tradition.

The weather was cool here, so I baked the casserole in the oven (to warm up the house) instead of on the Weber Genesis, and almost felt guilty.

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Another Malnati Style Veggie Pizza

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We used up the last of this batch of dough to do another Lou Malnati style deep dish pizza for Friday night.

I’ve adapted the recipe from this one, which was on an episode of Throwdown.

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Charred Eggplant with Curried Chickpeas

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I ran across this recipe idea in The Wall Street Journal last week, and as it happened my wife had just brought home a couple eggplants.

I split the eggplants in two, lengthwise, scored the skins and put them on the grill over medium burners for 15 to 20 minutes, turning occasionally, after hitting them with a little olive oil spray and kosher salt. Also charred a red pepper at the same time.

Then I sautéed a chopped red onion and several cloves of garlic, diced the roasted pepper and added it. After a few minutes I poured in some white wine vinegar, then added the can of (drained) chickpeas and a tablespoon or so of curry powder. Once everything was combined and heated, I spooned it over the Eggplant halves, topped with a little chipped cilantro, hit it with olive oil and salt again, and then put it all back on the grill in a foil pan to finish. Mrs. Noe cooked the quinoa on the stovetop.

This turned out really delicious, and was a nice departure from our usual fare. It’s also prompted me to review an old cookbook titled Curries Without Worries that my wife gave me years ago and I’ve never cooked from. I think that a lot of the recipes seemed too intricate and intimidating when I was younger. Hoping that I’ve grown as a cook since then and can find some treasures in its pages.

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Easy Foolproof Grilled Pizza

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I’ve learned a lot since originally posting about how to make pizza on the grill. I think I finally have a foolproof process that can consistently turn out great pies.

One of the most labor intensive parts of the process, for me, has been rolling out and stretching the dough. This time around, I put each dough ball between two sheets of parchment paper and rolled it out with a french pin. For three crusts, this probably saved me half-an-hour’s work.

The second tricky part of my old process was getting the dough on to the grill. The double parchment made this easy too. I simply placed the dough, paper and all, on a preheated plancha (with the grill at about 500 F), thus avoiding the treacherous “commit and flip” ritual. After a minute or so, I used a spatula to flip the dough, and one sheet of the paper came right off. I sprayed the dough with olive oil at this point, and after another minute flipped again, removed the other paper and sprayed that side as well. Then it was a simple matter of turning the dough occasionally as it baked, until one side had been grilled for three to four minutes and the other side for two to three.

At that point, we topped the side that had been cooked longest, and put the pizza back on the plancha for another two or three minutes to finish. If we had been using toppings that required more thorough cooking (sausage or whatever) we would have par-cooked those in a pan ahead of time.

This process was a lot less hassle than what I was doing before, and it avoided the problem of the crusts getting a little too charred from being directly over the flames.

I used a cast iron plancha on the Weber Genesis, but if you’re cooking over charcoal, you could use any heavy pan or a pizza stone. Just be sure to get everything up to a high temperature before you start cooking.

Do you cook pizza outdoors? I’d love to hear about your recipes and process. Leave a note in the comments.

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Walleye from Lake Erie

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For several months now, my father-in-law has been casually asking “If I brought some Walleye over, would you fix it on the grill?” I’d always say that I would, but was more or less dreading it. I like walleye breaded and fried, but have never been nuts about the texture or flavor of it prepared otherwise. I’ve also had no experience cooking that sort of fish on the grill.

I do love my in-laws, though, and finding ways to delight them with a meal is always a pleasure. So I began looking for recipes and techniques that would turn out something satisfying.

The walleye arrived as bags of frozen fillets. I thawed several bags and put the fish into a bowl of salt water for awhile. After reviewing a bunch of recipes online, I decided that the best approach would be to season the walleye with my barbecue rub, hit it with some canola oil and bake it indirect on the Genesis in foil pans. I also sprinkled it with Herbs de Provence and lime juice toward the end of the cook (which was about 15 to 20 minutes).

It wasn’t bad. I think I got the cook time right. I’d be tempted next time to marinate the fillets in either citrus or some sort of strong brine overnight. I might also roll them in cornmeal or breadcrumbs.

Dad seem to enjoy them, and that’s the main thing. He was a fairly serious fisherman in his younger days, and I think he misses it. He also doesn’t grill anymore, and I think he misses that too. Claudia has told me of the times when he would have a smoker going for fish or game, just outside her bedroom window when she was a kid.

We served the fish with a delicious zucchini and yellow squash casserole that Claudia made, Wulff Salad, roasted cauliflower wedges that I did on the Genesis (with herbs, mustard powder and cheese), and some nice bread that I baked earlier in the day. The wine was an A to Z Pinto Gris, which was tasty, though a little sweet for my palate.

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