Patio Fiesta

This week Cinco de Mayo will be celebrated worldwide honoring Mexican heritage; marking the defeat of the French Army after invading the Americas. But believe it or not, this commemorative holiday is celebrated by more people in California than Mexico. And, many festive ways are used to mark the occasion beyond cervesa and tequila. Dances and music mark the occasion to preserve & educate the public of its historical significance and culture.

Make any day a fiesta on your patio with a few easy steps and don’t be afraid to use vibrant colors. There is more to having fun than hanging a piñata!

-       Use terra cotta planters filled with pants such as begonias, dahlias, begonias, nasturtiums, and sunflowers

-       Cushions, throws, tablecloths, and napkins of hot yellow, turquoise green, and burnt orange

-       Set flower pots on tables with traditional herbs used in Mexican cooking like Cilantro, oregano, and peppermint

-       Serve foods and beverages on plates and glassware with bold bright colors

-       Hang out door lighting for mood

-       Turn up the volume and spin Maraichi and Latin music

-       Set up a hot sauce and salsa station

Get recipes for patio entertaining:

Posole

Barbecue Burrito

Chocolate con Plátanos Quesadilla

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13 EPISODES on 4 HD-DVD Disk Set, season one

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AS SEEN ON PUBLIC TELEVISION & CREATE TV- SEASON ONE
FEATURING CHEF GEORGE HIRSCH DEMONSTRATING HIS SAVORY COOKING, BAKING AND GRILLING RECIPES; WITH HIS EXPERT CULINARY TIPS & TECHNIQUES, ALONG WITH VISITS TO HIS INSPIRING HAMPTON LOCATIONS.

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Wrap it UP!

With red meat, that is. I'm often asked how I create my recipes. The truth is, there isn't really one way; sometimes by theme, sometimes by menu needs and sometimes... well, because it's the ingredients I have on hand. The later reason can be the most enjoyable to create with; and this is just one story that became a recipe ...

Once on the road, while taping my TV series, when we were between shows; some of my crew wanted a snack. There is nothing like a hungry crew staring at you to give you motivation. Upon looking at the fresh ingredients we had on hand, I found a few chipotle peppers. I started from there, and the warm smokey flavor made it a hit with my crowd. I’m sure it will satisfy yours too.

George’s Sliced Beef Wraps
Recipe by George Hirsch | chefgeorgehirsch.com
Makes 10 wraps

2 pounds sirloin steak 2-thick, or flank or hanger
 

For marinade:
2 chipotle (smoked-dried jalapeño) peppers, or 2 teaspoons powder
1 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup raisins
1 head caramelized garlic
1 Tablespoon wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon cilantro
Fresh ground black pepper

Place pineapple juice, raisins, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, cilantro, black pepper and chipotle peppers in food processor and blend well. Pour blended marinade over sirloin and marinate 24-48 hours, refrigerate.

Remove meat from refrigerator one half hour prior to cooking.

Preheat a cast iron pan, grill pan, or outdoor grill to high. 

Remove meat from marinade and grill on high heat for 3-4 minutes on each side, brushing with chipotle marinade while cooking.  Lower heat to medium and allow to cook slowly to desired doneness. 

Remove from grill and allow meat to rest 3-4 minutes before slicing. Slice meat thinly against the grain.

For wraps:
1 cup black beans, cooked or canned 
1 cup Tomatillo Sauce
3 Tablespoons cilantro, coarse chopped
10 flour tortillas

Wraps may be served warm or cold. To serve warm wraps, heat tortillas quickly on grill or a griddle pan. Top warm tortillas with sliced sirloin, warm beans, cilantro and sauce. Wrap tortillas over and serve.

Optional toppings may include:
sour cream
sliced avocados
grilled onions & peppers

Bruschetta

What to grill this weekend? How about some bread? Bruschetta is one of my most popular recipes and is so simple to prepare. It is an ideal snack to enjoy while you are waiting for the main dish on the grill to be finished. 

Ideally, use day old or very dense thickly-sliced bread. The addition of the smoke from the grill adds magical flavor to the crust and it’s toppings. There is no limit in toppings for your bruschetta, just let your imagination run free. Think of your bread crusts as an artist’s canvas. 

Join me for a bruschetta tour through Italy. Which, BTW, the variety in bruschetta toppings vary from region to region.  

When canal-side in Venice, I must have my bruschetta with Baccala' Mantecato, that is topped with whipped salted cod. This cod is making me thirsty! Vino prego!

While in Siena, I’ve enjoyed grilled toasts di fegato, that's made with garlicky chopped liver.

The southern part of Italy is the region to feast on the superior quality of fruits from Italy's fertile soil, particularly Naples. Ahh, delicioso pomodoro. This is the bruschetta most people envision - crowns of sweet ripened tomatoes, basil and olive oil.   

Before you take your first bite, let me transport you to my favorite place in Positano; Trattoria La Tagliata where Bartolo is the family's grill chef. He will take really good care of you - while you nibble on his bruschetta, enjoying the priceless view of the Amalfi Coast and await his grilled specialties.

Something wonderful happens to country-style bread when it’s brushed with olive oil and grilled. It’s smoky flavor adds another layer to olive oil, fresh tomatoes with lots of caramelized garlic, parmesan cheese, and capers. Dry day-old bread makes the best bruschetta, so this is a good way to use up yesterday’s loaf of Italian, French, or sourdough bread. Serve bruschetta with salad or soup, or as a snack with a chunk of sopressatta.

This recipe is from my first book, and to pass along just how much everyone enjoys bruschetta from the grill it’s my very first recipe in the book, page 14.

Bruschetta 
From Grilling with Chef George Hirsch | The cookbook By George Hirsch with Marie Bianco © 1994

Makes 6 

3 cups seeded and diced plum tomatoes
24 cloves caramelized garlic
2 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1 Tablespoon capers, rinsed
Salt and pepper, to taste
12 slices round country- style bread, sliced 3/4 inch thick
1/4 cup olive oil
6 basil leaves, chopped
Grated parmesan cheese 

To make the topping, combine the tomtoes, garlic, parmesan cheese, capers, salt and pepper.

Brush the bread on both sides with olive oil and grill 10 to 15 seconds on each side. Press down on the bread with a spatula so that the bread picks up grill marks.

When the bread is grilled, top off the slices evenly with the tomato mixture and place them in a foil pan on the grill. Close the hood and heat for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the pan and sprinkle each bruschetta with basil and parmesan cheese.

Dublin Coddle Hotpot

This traditional supper dish of Bangers (sausages), bacon, onions and potatoes dates back to the early eighteenth century. It was a favorite of Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels and Dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin. In Dublin, a coddle is a dish that can be prepared ahead of time and left to cook in a very slow oven, or a slow cooker. This is an ideal menu choice for when you can’t stand over the grill or oven to watch it cook. 

Comfort food at its best—I find this dish is also an easy prep, especially if you are out in the yard busy in springtime activities. Set up the dish, let it slow cook and you’ll have a meal ready for a crowd later in the day, or a few hours later. 

As common sense with ingredients in all recipes, the sausages in this dish should be the best quality pork sausages for optimum results. My butcher friend Peter O’Sullivan from Co. Kerry, Ireland figured if we paired his sausages and my grilling recipes we would have a hit! Peter also told me he is a third generation sausage maker and the only thing that has changed in the recipe in a hundred years is there is less fat and the ingredients were pretty simple, no preservatives.

Note: Coddle means to cook slowly and gently below the boiling point.

Combining the flavor of the grilled sausages and slow cooking of the vegetables makes this hearty dish ideal for serving for a St. Pat’s celebration or on Spring's unexpected chilly nights. Keep it in a Dublin theme and serve with Guinness and brown bread. 

Dublin Coddle
Makes six – eight servings | George Hirsch

4 pounds Yukon or new potatoes, well scrubbed and cut into 2-3 inch pieces
1 pound pork sausages, grill until brown – not fully cooked, room temp.
2 large sweet onions, peeled and cut into two inch pieces
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into two inch pieces
8 cloves caramelized garlic, puree with flat of knife 
1 pound slab bacon, sliced - browned - cut into one inch pieces
1 - 2 cups beef or chicken broth, variable 
1 cup Guinness or use additional broth
4 Tablespoons fresh flat leaf Italian parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
Fresh ground black pepper 

After grilling and chilling sausages, it may be left whole or cut into smaller pieces, depending on the size of sausages on how you are serving this dish. I also like leaving the skin on the potatoes for added flavor and nutrients.

Layer ingredients into a cast iron pan with a tight fitting cover, or a slow cooker in this order: onions, carrots, bacon, sausages, potatoes, pinch of thyme, parsley and pepper. Repeat until all ingredients are used up. In a small sauce pot, mix caramelized garlic with broth, heat to simmer, then pour the broth and Guinness over the top of sausage and vegetables. 

Slowly cook on a low temperature grill on indirect heat for three hours (cover closed), or 300 degree F oven for 3-4 hours or in a slow cooker on low for 7-8 hours, or high for 3 to 4 hours. After a couple hours, occasionally check the liquid in the bottom of the pan to make sure there is at least 1 inch of liquid remaining in the bottom at all times. Add additional broth as needed. 

Serve immediately.

Lamb Shanks and Potatoes

Braising adapts so well to outdoor cooking, especially this time of year when you won't have to stand over the grill 'on watch' flipping the fish or steak at just the right moment. Braising on the grill allows you to kick back and walk away while a dish such as lamb shanks cook - low and slow. Just brown the lamb shanks on the grill, and continue with the recipe; cooking as directed in a heatproof casserole pot or finish braising the lamb shanks in a slow cooker. 

A trip to Ireland is not complete without at least visiting a local pub and hearing a tale or two, listening to local music, and of course the local cusine. In addition to famous irish breakfasts that are second to none the seafood of Bantry, or the lamb of Connemara with a natural thyme, sage and rosemary flavor.    

Noteworthy: Ireland's world famous Connemara Lamb

The Connemara region in Ireland is world renowned for its mystical beauty, rolling valleys, hills and lakes. This region is often shrouded by the moist mists of the North Atlantic which enhances its spectacular beauty and aids in the growth of its many wild herbs, grasses, heathers and wild flowers all of which are part and parcel of the stable diet of Connemara Lamb. 

Lá Fhéile Pádraig, Gaelic for Saint Patrick's Day and in honor this month's celebration—Pionta Guinness, le do thoil. Sláinte! That's, a pint of Guinness please and cheers!

Lamb Shanks and Potatoes

Recipe by George Hirsch | Makes four servings 

George Hirsch Living it UP! TV series  | chefgeorgehirsch.com 

4 whole lamb shanks
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup carrots, chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup peas, frozen
1/4 cup celery, chopped
10 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 cups chicken broth
1 Tablespoon rosemary
1 teaspoon thyme
2 cups mashed potatoes

Preheat large saucepan.

Add olive oil and brown meat on all sides.  Add onions, garlic, carrots, celery and cook until light brown.  

Add vinegar and reduce for two minutes.  Add tomato sauce, broth, rosemary and thyme.  Cover and cook meat for two hours at a gentle simmer.  

The lamb shanks are fully cooked when the meat becomes flaky and shrinks away from the bone. Add peas to the lamb shanks and vegetables. Cook for 5 minutes longer.  

Serve the cooked Lamb Shanks with sauce and vegetables on top of hot, steamy smashed potatoes.

Smashed Potatoes Recipe, CLICK HERE.