All posts by Dennis Green

Canadian Chef Dennis Green, a 20 year veteran of the Vancouver culinary community and author.
Food, Life in General, Writing

A Month of Sundays

It has certainly been an interesting year. This time last year, I had my resignation letter written but not submitted, my stomach full of butterflies, and no certainty what I would be doing in the fall. I would never have ventured to guess that my life would be focused on thinking of how to help our next generation of young chefs attain their goals and learn their craft well without that involving me picking up a frying pan on a daily basis, but am happy to be in a position where that is actually the reality. I have neglected my musings here as I have been absorbed in much technical writing updating our provincial cooking programs and all of the related support materials, travelling around the province and meeting firsthand all of the schools that teach culinary arts and their local industry folks. What a great group of people we have here! It’s no wonder the food is so good in BC.

I have managed to squeeze out a few barbecues in between the raindrops, and have posted the first in a series of summer recipes from those dinners. I was out in Langley last week for a meeting and took the opportunity to swing by JD farms and pick up a free range turkey to celebrate the summer solstice. The first of the local strawberries graced our table as well, so I made my Grandmother’s famous summer fruit pie, a staple of any barbecue at the Green family compound. A few cold beverages on the patio nibbling homemade tortilla chips with tapenade and a scallop salsa was the perfect setting to pass the time catching up with some friends as we were seduced by the gentle smoking of said turkey nearby.

Other dinners have included a couple of “cowboy steaks”, a slow roasted pork shoulder, and the usual suspects of ribs, chicken, potato salad, and biscuits. I’ll get the recipes for those done before we hit the road for 3 weeks of an extended road trip through California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah starting mid July. Until then, happy cooking!

Dennis

Entree, Poultry, Recipes, Videos

Hot Smoked Barbecued Turkey

A turkey hot smoked on an old fashioned kettle barbecue is one of our start of summer family rituals. For a fun video of doing this check out the bottom of the post!

Brine

1 gallon (16 cups) water
1 cup sea salt
1 cup sugar
1 tsp each whole clove, peppercorn, star anise, coriander
1 cinnamon stick

Bring to a boil and let cool

1 turkey (18-20 lb)

Remove thigh bones for quicker and even cooking
Place in brine overnight in refrigerator (use a large bag for this)
The next day, remove from brine, and pat dry

Rub with:
2 tbsp olive oil

Grind together in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder:

1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cracked pepper
1 tsp mustard seeds

Rub all over turkey

Prepare coals:
10 lb lump charcoal
5 lb charcoal briquettes
Heat for 45 minutes, then disperse around edges of kettle

Soak 4 cups wood chips in water while coals are heating, drain and wrap in a foil parcel. Place in centre of coals

Place turkey in a disposable foil roasting pan and place on rack over coals
Cover and cook for 3 1/5 hours, basting every 1/2 hour, until it registers 165 F on a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the breast.

Remove and rest for 30 minutes

Carve and enjoy!

Appetizer, Recipes, Seafood

Scallop and Grilled Vegetable Salsa

I wanted to combine a few of my favourite flavours: grilled scallops and a fire roasted vegetable salsa with fresh basil and lime. I made some baked tortilla chips to serve it on.

1/2 lb scallops, cleaned
sea salt and pepper
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 limes

Skewer scallops and season. rub with a little vegetable oil to prevent sticking
Grill until just cooked, 2 minutes on each side and remove from heat
Cut limes in half and place on grill as well, cut side down. Remove with scallops

2 sweet peppers
6 small tomatoes
1 sweet onion
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil

Halve peppers, slice onion, and leave tomatoes whole.
Toss with olive oil and vinegar
Grill until softened and set aside

Dice vegetables and scallops, and toss together along with any juices
Squeeze limes into mixture

Chop until fine and add:
1/2 bunch basil

Season to taste

Serve with fresh tortilla chips

Appetizer, Bread, Recipes, Vegetarian

Fresh Tortilla Chips

I like to make these chips with leftover flour tortillas. They will keep for a week tightly covered, although they never seem to last that long!

6 flour tortillas
2 tbsp olive oil
sea salt

Preheat oven to 375 F
Cut tortillas into 12 wedges each and toss with olive oil and sea salt
Arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment and cook for 12-15 minutes, until golden
Cool and store in a sealed container until needed

Appetizer, Recipes, Sauce, Vegetarian

Deli Counter Tapenade

A trip to the local deli will usually provide all you need for a simple tapenade to spread on homemade tortilla chips, fresh bread or your favourite crackers.

1/2 cup roasted red peppers
6 sundried tomato halves
1/2 cup stuffed marinated jumbo olives
1/4 cup oil cured (morrocan) black olives
1/2 bunch basil
drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Combine in a food processor and purée until smooth. Refrigerate until needed