An ARFCOM style Dinner Picture

For anyone who's on ar15.com, this picture will look...familiar.

They have a tradition over there of taking whats called "dinner pics".   A meal, presented with a knife, handgun, rifle and reloads, plus alcohol for those who drink are the bare minimum requirements.  I didn't have anything exciting or important to blog about, so I took a dinner pic of my meal tonight.

Food is as follows:  Steak is seasoned with a dry rub using paprika, chili powder, cumin, Tex Joy, kosher salt, freshly pressed garlic and brown sugar. Seasoned 3 hours before grilling, set out to room temperature 30 minutes before grilling.  Potatoes were cubed, then cooked on a skillet with Cajun seasoning and olive oil.  Tex Joy and cheese top off the broccoli. 

Guns:  A Saiga AK-47 type rifle that I converted myself, a Gen4 Glock 19, and reloads for both.

Knife: New production USMC Kabar

Drink: Jack Daniels

Extras: A ballcap from my Alma Mater, and my Aggie ring/wedding ring just to add a little something shiny to the picture.  

This rub is a keeper.  Unless the steak is being prepared specifically to pair with another dish, this rub is how I will do it from now on.  Best steak I think I've ever grilled.

Closeups of the food/my rings just because I thought it was a cool shot:

Leftovers and grilled peppers

I had some left over taco meat from the Mexican Grilled Pizza I made, so I decided to make soft tacos with a side of grilled peppers and topped with homemade guacamole.  I won't bore you with how to make soft tacos, because its really not hard.  Thankfully, neither is this simple grilled peppers recipe.  I look forward to repeating it with homegrown bell peppers and jalapenos in a few months, but for now I'm stuck with store bought. 

Ingredients list:
Bell peppers, wedged
Jalapenos, sliced
Mozzarella cheese

That's it!  Grill the Bell peppers face down, then flip, add jalapeno slices and top with mozzarella.  Grill until melted, and eat.  My dinner was topped off with a Shiner 102, a double wheat made to celebrate the Spotzel brewery's 102nd year of operation. 

 

Thai Chicken Satay w/homemade peanut sauce and zucchini

Finished product:

 Ingredient lists:
 Chicken Satay

• 1/2 cup canned coconut milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon yellow curry powder
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon chili oil
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into strips
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon chopped unsalted peanuts
• 12 wooden skewers, soaked in water for 15 minutes
• 1 cup prepared Thai peanut sauce

Thai peanut sauce

• 1 cup fresh-tasting dry roasted peanuts, unsalted
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/2 to 2 Tbsp. brown sugar, to taste
• 2 to 2.5 Tbsp. fish sauce - for vegetarians: substitute 2.5 to 3 Tbsp. regular soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp. tamarind paste OR 2 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper, OR 1 tsp. Thai chili sauce (more or less to taste)
• 1/3 cup coconut milk

Thai zucchini

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

1 pinch dried crushed red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/3 cup finely chopped unsalted dry roasted peanuts

3 teaspoons chicken broth

3 teaspoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 pinch sugar 

3 medium zucchini, cut into very thin strips

Now that the shopping list is out of the way, first thing we need to do is create the marinade for the chicken.  You're going to want this to sit covered in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, but preferably 2 hours.
Stir together the coconut milk, ground coriander, curry powder, fish sauce, and chili oil. Add the chicken breast strips, and stir to coat. Cover and put in the fridge.  

Next you're going to want to get the Thai sauce together.  Take everything in the ingredient list for the sauce and throw it all in a processor.   Afer its smooth, taste and adjust to your palette.  Want it more salty, add fish sauce.  Sweeter, more suger.  You get the idea.

All the ingredients together before the food processor:

And after its been run through the processor:

When its getting close to grill time, you might be better off with a partner to do the veggies while you grill so they'll be done at the same time.  If not, that's okay.  I'd attack the veggies first, then grill the meat.  They'll stay hot because it won't take long to brown up the chicken.

As a Texan, you should always have a "grilling beer" when you grill.  My choice today was a Shiner Bock, a Texas beer brewed in Shiner, Texas.  If you've never tried one, you need to.

 

Cook garlic, ginger, and red pepper in oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Add peanuts and next 4 ingredients, stirring well.  Add zucchini, and cook, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes, or until crisp tender.

As for the chicken, preheat the grill on high, and discard marinade.  Cook the chicken 2-3 minutes per side, maybe more if you got thick breasts.  Basically, grill until they're cooked though...pretty simple.  

I like to serve all this on a bed of rice, but you can certainly do without the rice. Also, red wine complements this meal perfectly!

Until next time, shoot safe, grill weekly and go have fun in the garden!