Graham's Gastronomy - Personal Chef for the Week Part 1

My parents, who live in Eden Prairie MN, are remodeling the master bathroom. My father, who just turned 57 and is semi-retired, enlisted my help under the guise of “teaching me a life skill” to help with the endeavor. Added to all this, I was conscripted (or maybe volunteered) to be the personal chef of my parents for the week. To me, this meant that I had control over the menu, and got to cook delicious food for a captive audience with a skillful sous chef (my mother).

The meals began Monday night, with grilled swordfish that I coated in a pineapple habanero glaze. I painted strips of zucchini and yellow squash with a combination of olive oil, A-1, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper and grilled them, turning only once to get nicely defined grill marks. I also made a chop salad with romaine lettuce, tomatoes, shredded carrots, slivered onion, cucumber, edamame, and topped with blue cheese. A citrus vinaigrette with lemon and lime juice, with just a hint of mirin to mirror the lightness of the swordfish’s marinate topped the salad. All of this was paired with a French vouvray, light, fresh, with notes of lemon and apple.

Tuesday was a dinner out at Rodizio Grille, lots of meat, and a place restaurant I have written about before.

Wednesday was a practice run for my entry for a grill off competition next week. I thawed ahi tuna, then let it marinade it in half soy sauce and half honey for ten minutes. I rolled the steaks in black and white sesame seeds and seared them on the grill (my father’s grill has an infrared back burned that lets the grill get to 600-700 degrees). The seeds burned a bit, so I may have to reconsider coating before searing. Further, the tuna could have marinated for a bit longer as the marinade flavor didn’t really come through. I paired the fish with grilled eggplant that I drizzled with the remainder of the marinade sauce. The honey caramelized and burned a bit, giving a tasty outer char. Lastly, I tossed some orange and yellow peppers in a ponzu sauce with just a little fresh ground sea salt and gave them a char on the grill as well.

Day three of my willful culinary servitude was 15/30 tiger shrimp, peeled, and marinated in pesto with a little extra salt, lemon, and olive oil and were grilled (sensing a theme yet?). I would have also grilled the asparagus that was one of the sides, but the stalks were a bit thin and I didn’t want them to burn, so they were steamed and topped with a bit of butter and truffle salt. Reminiscing to my time in Nashville, I made grits, but 1/3 of the cooking liquid was a rendered turkey dripping I found in the fridge, just asking to be used. I also added a Colby jack cheese, making the grits creamier but also providing a bright orange coloration.

I’m a sucker for leftovers. In fact, I usually cook enough to have the meal for at least lunch the next day. That said, the leftover asparagus was chopped along with some of the bone honey ham and I sautéed both of those, adding beaten egg and Dubliner cheese (my parents get it in a huge block from Cosco) and I had a delicious omelet. Paired with pineapple, mango, and toasted coconut over plain greek yogurt with some PG Tips English tea, and that’s what I call breakfast.