Dinner Shortcuts, good and bad

[jducoeur]

I usually get home around 7ish, and then deal with dinner, and like to serve dinner by 8, so shortcuts are a way of life for me. And given that I am rarely feeling culinarily ambitious after a full workday, I'm always on the lookout for Commercial Shortcuts That Don't Suck. Last night had two experiments that are worth noting for future reference.

A few days ago, inspired by our new cocktail shaker, I experimentally picked up some "Simple Pomegranate Martini Mix" from the store. (Having essentially no experience with cocktails, this seemed like a way to start.) We tried out the recipe according to the label (equal parts Mix and vodka), and confirmed that it does, in fact, Suck -- too boozy, too sweet, not nearly tart enough to inform you that there was pomegranate in its ancestry.

However, in the interests of seeing whether the remaining Mix is at all useful, we adulterated the recipe last night, using instead equal part Mix, vodka, and actual Pomegranate juice. This does *not* suck: the result comes out tasting like a mildly sweetened pomegranate juice, with little detectable alcohol: tasty enough that one is tempted to gulp it, yet still strong enough to knock you on your ass if you do.

I suspect that, in the long run, I'll wind up keeping a jug of simple syrup on hand (the stuff is more or less shelf-stable, right?), and doing the pomegranatinis for real, working up a recipe that doesn't involve Mix. But this isn't a half-bad Shortcut.

Other experiment was Williams Sonoma's Shanghai Grilling Paste: smear liberally on swordfish, soak 45 minutes, then grill 10 minutes. That turns out to be a big win: a potent sauce with a strong ginger kick to it. The swordfish doesn't absorb the marinade as thoroughly as I might desire, so it's worth trying with other meats, but it was quite good as it was. Not cheap, but a small jar is enough for two full meals, including some extra on the side for dipping.

Comments

[orlacarey.livejournal.com]

Yep simple syrup is basically shelf stable.

[kiya]

Not sure about pomegranate stuff for shelf-stable, but Rose's lime appears to be, so I'd guess so.

You want me to fish out teinedreugan's bartending guidebook and see if it has a pomegranatini? I'm pretty sure it's not packed yet, I just put it on the shelf and I'm hiatus from book-packing.

[jducoeur]

You want me to fish out [info]teinedreugan's bartending guidebook and see if it has a pomegranatini?

Don't sweat it -- I'm pretty sure that if I Google on "pomegranate martini" I'll get at least a few hundred candidate recipes. (From which I'll then hack around until I come up with something I like.) But thanks for the offer.

I wonder if POM has an official recipe on their website? The article in [Time|Newsweek] last week indicated that they promulgated the concept, as a way to sell juice...

[jducoeur]

I wonder if POM has an official recipe on their website?

Answering myself: yep, they have
a whole raft of pomegranate-based cocktail recipes, in fact, including their official POMTINI recipe. Sounds reasonably tasty -- I'll have to try that sometime...

[cellio]

I'd be tempted to try that paste with salmon. Chicken would probably work well too.

[jducoeur]

I suspect that both would work well, yes. Indeed, I'm going to have to experiment with stir-frying with this sauce -- I suspect I'd get an even more concentrated flavor if I don't have half the sauce dripping down through the grill...

[yukirien.livejournal.com]

Maybe poking the meat with a sharp knife against the grain a few times first would help the flavor soak in? We've never had much luck with grilling fish anyways, but I assume swordfish holds together better than catfish.

[jducoeur]

Maybe poking the meat with a sharp knife against the grain a few times first would help the flavor soak in?

Hmm. Not a bad idea; I'll have to remember to try that.

We've never had much luck with grilling fish anyways, but I assume swordfish holds together better than catfish.

Oh, much. When grilling, swordfish is my fish of choice, because it is *far* more solid. I suspect tuna would work, and salmon might if handled with some care, but I would assume that catfish simply falls apart on the grill.

But swordfish is easy -- just treat it like a thick steak, and it does the right thing...

[yukirien.livejournal.com]

I would assume that catfish simply falls apart on the grill.

Bingo! My dad was experimenting with fish to see if he could grill the catfish he catches because he doesn't like catfish cooked the usual way. I haven't seen swordfish in the stores, but I'll keep an eye out when we grill again. Thanks :)

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

Has he tried wrapping it in tinfoil for most of the cooking time, then opening it up so it's not just steamed, at the last minute? That seems like it could work.

[yukirien.livejournal.com]

We skewered it and grilled it over foil. It all stuck to the foil and ended up getting scraped off. Would the foil-quasi-steamed method end up tasting mostly steamed as well?

[jducoeur]

Possible. It's a potential experiment, but if grilling over foil doesn't work, then grilling in foil is likely to have a similar effect. Catfish on the grill might just be one of those things that Wasn't Meant to Be...

[yukirien.livejournal.com]

I forgot the disclaimer that I've actually never tried stabbing the meat with a knife, so I'm not sure if it'd work. Usually marinating the meat for hours works, but I'm guessing if time won't help increasing surface area will.

re: first mix

[etherial.livejournal.com]

This is why they invented "bitters".

Re: first mix

[jducoeur]

I don't actually have much idea of what bitters *are*, or what you use them for...

Re: first mix

[etherial.livejournal.com]

"Bitters" are herbal liquors used to adjust the flavours of mixed drinks. They act to smooth out flavours of, for example, overly sweet concoctions. A dash of bitters adds bitter, sweet, sour, and salt flavour to the beverage, resulting in it being far closer to the middle of the four flavours and bringing it away from any extremes caused by the ingredients.

[tpau]

if you wnat true shortcuts. i REALLY recomend Dream Dinners. go once, spend 2 hours, and have 12 meals in yoru freezer good for aroudn 2 years, for when you need to not think about it.

[jducoeur]

We're thinking about it. One of their competitors is actually pretty convenient to us...

[tpau]

cool. i have found ti to be an absolute lifesaver. no shopping, no cleaning, no prep, jsut a ziplock bag in my freeezer and wicked good food in minutes.