Category Archives: Techniques

Karl’s Molé Basted Barbecued Chicken

A bag of molé has been living in my freezer for months. I wanted to do some barbecued chicken for this Sunday’s dinner, but I did not want it to be the same old, same old. I thought using the molé as a barbecue sauce was just the ticket.

Karl’s Molé Basted Barbecued Chicken

Karl’s Molé Basted Barbecued Chicken

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Filed under Barbeque, California Fusion, Chicken, Main Dishes, Poultry, Sauces and Spices

Karl’s Chili Rellenos in a Casserole

Jan has requested chili rellenos to go with my molé chicken this Sunday. A quick look at recipes on-line told me that it is a fussy recipe that has several steps fraught with peril. You have to broil, deseed, and then stuff the chilies without breaking them. Then you have to coat them in a egg batter and deep fry them, still without breaking the chilies or having the coating fall off.

Karl’s Chili Rellenos in a Casserole

Karl’s Chili Rellenos in a Casserole

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Filed under California Fusion, Casserole, Side Dishes, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Karl’s Middle Eastern Tacos

As a Californian, I like to do mash-ups—taking the ingredients of one culture and the cooking techniques of another to create something new. Jan wanted taco’s, but I was growing of the same old, beef, pork, chicken or fish with the usual Mexican spices and salsas. I decided to take kubideh and make something different with it.

Karl’s Middle Eastern Tacos

Karl’s Middle Eastern Tacos

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Filed under Beef, California Fusion, Lamb, Main Dishes, Sauces and Spices, Stir-fry

Karl’s Surf and Turf

Miriam requested Surf and Turf for her birthday dinner this week end. I suggested several possible international spicings, but she wanted it to be a simple salt and pepper tri-tip. If you are going to eat beef, sometimes you just want to taste the beef.

Karl’s Salt and Pepper Tri-tip

Karl’s Salt and Pepper Tri-tip

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Filed under Barbeque, Beef, California Fusion, Main Dishes, Seafood

Karl’s Tunisian Mechouia (Grilled Vegetable Salad)

Adapted from a America’s Test Kitchen recipe

Miriam requested grilled vegetables for her birthday dinner and gave me a list of vegetables she wanted. I could have just thrown them on the grill, but ATK recently did a show on Tunisian Mechouia. Looking at other recipes on-line, this dish can vary from a vegetables puree to the chunky salad produced by chef Julia Collin Davison at ATK.

Karl’s Tunisian Mechouia (Grilled Vegetable Salad)

Karl’s Tunisian Mechouia
Grilled Vegetable Salad

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Filed under Barbeque, Salads, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Karl’s Barbecued Sichuan Chicken

I decided to make barbecued chicken with a Sichuan glaze this Sunday. This is something a Chinese cook from “the Mainland” would never do. This, however, is a California Fusion recipe, taking something from one cuisine and mashing it together with the techniques of another. I am also serving dàn dàn miàn and pickled cabbage.

Karl’s Barbecued Sichuan Chicken

Karl’s Barbecued Sichuan Chicken

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Filed under Barbeque, California Fusion, Chicken, Main Dishes, Poultry

Karl’s Chinese Chicken with Oyster Mushrooms

Eilene is at a party on a Saturday night and that means that Jan and I can have an ingredient that she doesn’t like, mushrooms. Chicken and mushrooms, a Chinese restaurant standard, came to mind. To go with this main dish, I chose Chinese broccoli as the vegetable, but what was to be my starch? The standard Chinese accompaniment to these dishes would be steamed white rice. However, Jan loves pan fried noodles, so that is where I went. Form a mundane Saturday night meal this had turned into restaurant quality fare.

Karl’s Chinese Chicken with Oyster Mushrooms

Karl’s Chinese Chicken with Oyster Mushrooms

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Filed under Chicken, Chinese, Main Dishes, Poultry, Stir-fry

Karl’s Barbecued Ham Steak with Lemon Thyme Glaze

When Safeway has a half price sale on hams (after a holiday) I buy a half a ham and cut it into ¾ inch ham steaks to freeze for later. While ham steak is good just on its own, it is nice to dress it up a bit. For this Sunday’s dinner, I thought I would try to barbecue the steak and put a lemon glaze on it.

Karl’s Barbecued Ham Steak with Lemon Thyme Glaze

Karl’s Barbecued Ham Steak with Lemon Thyme Glaze

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Filed under Barbeque, Main Dishes, Pork

Karl’s Barbecued Greek Lamb Korma

Easter is upon us and, in this household, this means lamb. Since I like to mix up my cultures while cooking, son-in-law Chris suggested a Greek korma lamb. This would be lamb braised in yogurt but with Greek, rather than Indian, flavors. While most of my diners would be fine with this, the wife, Jan, only likes lamb barbecued. To meet both their desires I decided to barbecue the lamb and top it with a hot yogurt sauce on the side, something like a hot tzatziki.

Karl’s Barbecued Greek Lamb Korma

Karl’s Barbecued Greek Lamb Korma

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Filed under Barbeque, California Fusion, Lamb, Main Dishes, Sauces and Spices

Karl’s New England Boiled Dinner (a.k.a. Corned Beef and Cabbage)

Chris requested New England Boiled Dinner for his birthday. According to Wikipedia: This is a “traditional New England meal, consisting of corned beef, or a smoked “picnic ham” shoulder, with cabbage and added vegetable items, often including potatorutabaga, parsnipcarrotwhite turnip and onion.” This is one of the original American “one pot meals.”

Karl’s New England Boiled Dinner (a.k.a. Corned Beef and Cabbage)

Karl’s New England Boiled Dinner
a.k.a. Corned Beef and Cabbage

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Filed under Beef, Broiling, Main Dishes, Potatoes