Dear all,
Darren was keen to give the BBQ a good workout so we decided to have an impromptu feast and picked out a beauty from Ted's BBQ bible; Ted's Tandoori Chicken Burgers.
I had an hour or so to prepare everything after scouring the shops for Naan Bread ( Cwood was all out of Naan!) so got to work on the burgers, adding all the ingredients into a large bowl, mixing it all together and then leaving it in the fridge for an hour to 'marinade'.
Ted asked for some wild and wonderful ingredients as always; ground chicken, Ted's Tandoori bbq seasoning (2 tsp salt, 1/4 cup paprika, 2 tbs cumin, 1 tbs smoked paprika, 1 tbs cayenne, 1 tbs coriander, 1 tbs cardamom, 1 tbs cinnamon, 1 tbs black pepper, 1 tbs brown sugar and 1 tsp ground cloves: absolutely amazing!) garlic, green chillies, ginger, yogurt, oil, lemon juice and fresh coriander ( cilantro) but it looked and smelt pretty good as it entered the fridge and we were excited as to how they would taste.
Darren then stepped in to save the day and started on the Tandoori BBQ sauce. He heated oil in a saucepan over high heat then added the tandoori burger seasoning and stirred it continuously to release the flavors. The smell was outstanding as he added red chillies [diced], garlic and onion and then let it cook down a little.
He then added apple cider vinegar, ketchup and honey ( and a little of Ted's pineapple rum grilling sauce for good measure) and let it simmer down for 10 minutes.
Darren then popped it in the blender and pureed the sauce to remove any particles. It smelt incredible; a really unusual smelt but extremely evocative and made me want to dance around and sing.
I was getting various other things ready in the background ( garlic bread, Caesar salad,pasta salad and brushcetta.. i.e. waaaay to much for 5 people!). I had also boiled up a [very] large pot of potatoes in order to make Ted's planked 'Potato burgers', another rather rash experiment but I was excited to give it a try.
Once cooked, I mashed up the potato, added butter and garlic ( you could also add milk, cream or sour cream) and then left them to cool. Once cooled down a little, I added fresh parsley and chives and formed the potatoes in balls that we then placed on the [soaked] cedar plank. As an after thought, Darren sprinkled some Parmesan on top to beef them up a little. We then formed the chicken burgers into patties and we were good to go!
While the burgers were firing up on the Weber, everyone grazed on the mountain of snacks I had prepared ( still having issues with portion control....). Anna, Dave and Nadia had come around to sample the BBQ fare; it was the first time Dave and Nadia had seen the new place and everyone was revelling in the joyous sectional and it multi-faceted comfort levels.
The meal turned out to be a total success! Both sets of burgers were delicious and Darren's sauce was incredible! We just had a little too much for 5 people... but Darren is gently coaching me to cook with a more realistic idea of what people will eat.
Here are the chicken burgers and the Naan ( also brushed with oil and warmed on the BBQ) and the potato burgers. We decided the potato burgers needed a little something; maybe some orgasmic onion seasoning and a ton more butter added during the first blend but they were very tasty and worth a try is anyone is interesting in a meat-free BBQ snack.
Here are Nad, Anna and Dave after our tandoori feast; it was a great evening and the first of many to come over the summer months ( hurray!)
And in other news:
1 I have finished D's alien ( it's taken from the alien he has on his phone)
2. And a couple of pictures that are nearly finished; the Cornish coastline and a crab apple
3. My new favorite band: http://www.fosterthepeople.com/
I can't stop dancing to 'Pumped up Kicks'! Darren discovered them the other day and we love them!
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