Shout Out: Cooking without Power in CT, Grilled Pizza & Beyond
CTbites TeamAs many of our CT readers wrestle with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and the power outages that are being experienced across the state, the need for creative cooking techniques has become paramount. Some time ago, CTbites shot this video for Grilled Pizza. Granted...the weather was finer, but this is one of many recipes that can be done without an oven, and it's a great way to use some of those ingredients that are going south in your fridge. NOTE: Bridgeport Rescue Mission is accepting donations of frozen food from anyone who has lost power & The Westport Farmers' Market will be OPEN Thursday and accepting food donations.
Please tell us what you've been cooking this week in the dark, & share any tips with your CTbites community.
UPDATE!! [TWO lucky CTbites readers who comment below will WIN FREE DINNER for 2 @ Bartaco Restaurant]
Reader Comments (11)
The excuse for buying a chainsaw is "chainsaw," but for those who wish to provide a more culinary justification for their chainsaw purchase, there is the Finnish Stove: http://www.coolcrack.com/2012/01/finnish-stove.html
Of note:
- this works much better with seasoned wood than newly fallen timber, but the post-hurricane landscape has provided many of us with a plethora of options. Any tree which was halfway on its way out before the storm will be in better shape to burn than almost anything healthy, but a few of us may be lucky enough to have fallen birch trees close at hand. Birch contains natural oils which allow it to burn even when it's wet. I'd suggest stripping the bark (all of it, not just the white part) off the actual wood so the outside of the stove doesn't go up in flames. Use the bark, especially the white part, as a fire starter.
Grilled meatball parm subs!! Cheated by using pre-made meatballs, but used the grill to heat them and grill the bread, melt the cheese.
You can boil water to make pasta and rice on the grill, too. Or open up a can of black beans and heat it up in a pot, throw some tortillas on the grill with a little cheese and you can make quesadillas!
I grabbed a chunk of Pork Belly that I had previously cooked sous vide and stuck in the (now thawing) freezer, let it defrost, rubbed it down with typical BBQ spices, warmed in foil on the grill at about 250 for a half-hour, and then finished on the direct flames. Also grilled from zuchini and peppers from the CSA, and roasted a head of garlic.
Monday night I'd sous vide a rack of lamb, just in case, and power went out just before I finished on the grill anyway, so that was fortuitous timing.
In continuing efforts to empty the freezer, tonight I'll sautee some halibut. A cast iron skillet heated on the grill does the trick.
Well. today my children and I ate popcorn and blue slurpees in the dark. That was, however, in the movie theater in Norwalk where we were trying to take a break from boarding our family of five and bulldog at our very gracious, generous and overall wonderful friends' house where we have been staying for the past three days. Other make shift food ideas that we came up with this week included barbecued bacon, pork chops, pancakes on a cookie sheet, and smores. We finished off our indoor camp out by binging on our children's halloween candy.
this is one of our favorite dinners - grilled pizza!
I cooked some delicious chicken marsala right in the fireplace! Stuck the pan on top of the coals...it worked out perfectly.
I cooked chicken breasts last night with tongs over my fireplace...They were killer!!
We had leftover french onion soup on the stove (we didn't have electricity but we have gas burners which can be lit with a match)- Just be careful if you do that! We also had leftover salad, and drank the rest of the milk- basically we used whatever was in the fridge so it wouldn't go to waste.
Grilling everything on the grill. Anything can go on the grill boiling water to make potatoes with grilled asparagus and great fish!!!! Even breakfast, bacon and pancakes with grilled fruit. Great!
grilled salmon...yum :)