Culinary Expeditions
Culinary Expeditions
Each month Steve Kraske and the Up to Date crew head off in search of different cultures in Kansas City as represented by its food.  We call it Culinary Expeditions.  We'll explore the cuisine of a different part of the world - as far as Asia and Africa - to as close to home as Arkansas and Arizona.

We'll talk about ingredients you might know and some you might not, cooking techniques, and the significance of certain foods cooked specially for the holidays.

We'll hear stories from to the Kansas City area and share recipes that have been carried across continents, oceans, and generations.

Steven Raichlen
Steven Raichlen is a multi-award winning author; journalist; cooking teacher; and TV host. His best-selling Barbecue Bible cookbook series (more than 2 million copies in print) and Barbecue University TV show on PBS have virtually reinvented American barbecue.

Raichlen’s adventure with barbecue began with The Barbecue Bible (Workman, 1998), an IACP/ Julia Child Award-winning encyclopedic study of global grilling chronicling his 4-year, 200,000-mile odyssey on the world’s barbecue trail.

In 2000, Workman published How to Grill, the world’s first step-by-step guide to live fire cooking, with more than 1000 color photographs, hailed by the New York Times as “astute, approachable, and eminently appealing.” How to Grill won an IACP Award, as well as a Jacob’s Creek Silver Ladle award in Australia. Raichlen’s BBQ USA (2003), is a 780-page, 650-photograph, 425-recipe love song to regional American barbecue.

The newest addition to the BBQ series is Indoor Grilling, which brings the guru’s mastery of live-fire cooking indoors, making every day a good day to grill.

Raichlen’s 25 books also include Barbecue Bible Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades; Beer Can Chicken; the perennially popular Miami Spice (Workman Publishing), the James Beard Award-winning Healthy Latin Cooking (Rodale), and the new Big Flavor Cookbook (Black Dog & Levanthal). In all Raichlen has won 4 James Beard Awards and 3 IACP awards, and his books have been translated into French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Danish, German, Polish, Hungarian, Japanese, and Chinese.

Raichlen’s TV show, Barbecue University with Steven Raichlen, debuted on Public Television in spring, 2003. Taped on location at the luxurious Greenbrier resort in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia, the 26 part series focuses on the techniques of live fire cooking.

In 2000, Raichlen launched Barbecue University at the Greenbrier—profiled on the Food Network (which ranked it the “Best BBQ Experience in the U.S.”), and in Bon Appetit Magazine, Travel & Leisure Magazine and Esquire. In 2003, Bon Appetit named Raichlen “Cooking Teacher of the Year.”

In August, 2003, Raichlen defeated Iron Chef Roksbura Michiba in a barbecue battle on Japanese television. Oprah called him the “Gladiator of Grilling” and “Howard Stern hailed him as the “Michael Jordan of Barbecue.”

In 1975, Raichlen received a Thomas J. Watson Foundation Fellowship to study medieval cooking in Europe, as well as a Fulbright Scholarship to study comparative literature. He holds a degree in French literature from Reed College and trained at the Cordon Bleu and La Varenne cooking schools in Paris. Raichlen lives with his wife, Barbara, in Coconut Grove, Florida, and Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

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Up to Date - Culinary Expeditions - Grilling with Steven Raichlen
An unmistakable sound of the season is the sizzle and smoke of the backyard grill. 

And even though Kansas City is one of the BBQ capitals of the world, even experts (and novices alike) can learn something new from grilling guru and Barbecue University teacher Steven Raichlen.

Today Up to Date steps outside of the Boulevard Brewing Company (site of the previous hour's Walt Bodine Show on beer!) as Steve Kraske welcomes grilling guru Steven Raichlen to discuss his book How to Grill

There’s something for everyone as Raichlen discusses and demonstrates techniques and recipes that will benefit grilling novice and master alike.

Recipe: Ginger-Soy London Broil

Ginger-Soy London Broil
Recipe courtesy of Steven Raichlen, from his book How to Grill.

Serves 4
Cooking time: 12 to 16 minutes
Advanced Preparation: 4 to 12 hours largely unattended 


You'll need:

1 piece (2 inches) fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro or flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 beefsteak (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches thick; 1 1/2 to 2 pounds) cut from the top or bottom round or 1 flank steak (1 1/2 to 2 pounds)

    1. Prepare the marinade: place the ginger, onion, garlic, and cilantro in a food processor and process until a smooth paste forms.  Add the wine, soy sauce, oil and papper and process to combine.
    2. Place the steak in a baking dish ust alrge enought o hold it and spread the marinade over it.  Let marinate in the refirgerator, covered, for at least 4 hours, ideally 6 hours, or even overnight (12 hours) if time permits, turning the steak a few times.
   3. Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to high.  When ready to cook, brush and oil the grill grate.  remove the steak from the marinade and drain well.  Place the steak on the hot grate and grill until cooked to taste, 6 to 8 minutes per side for medium-rare, 2 minutes more per side for medium, rotating the steak 90 degrees after 3 minutes if a crosshatch of grill marks is desired. (This isn't absolutely essential, as teh steak will be cared for serving, but the perfectionist in you may want to do it anyway.)
   4. Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes.  Using a sharp knife, carve it into broad thin slices, holding the knife blade at a 45 degree angle to the top of the meat.

Also good for: You can make a healthier version of this recipe with turkey breast.  Just marinate the turkey as described in the recipe.  When cooking however, be sure to cook it through to at least 170°, which will take 15 to 20 minutes per side.

Recipe: Lettuces with Venetian Sweet-and-Sour Sauce
Lettuces with Venetian Sweet-and-Sour Sauce
Recipe courtesy of Steven Raichlen, from his book How to Grill.

Serves 4
Cooking time: 6 to 10 minutes

You'll need:

For the Sweet-and-Sour Sauce
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and gently crushed with the side of a knife
3 tablespoons pine nuts
3 tablespoons currants or raisins
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup honey
1 ounce semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
Coarse salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon butter

For the lettuces
2 small or 1 large head radicchio
2 medium Belgian endives, halved lengthwise
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Equipment
12 slender bamboo skewers or wooden toothpicks, or more as needed, soaked for 1 hour in water to cover
1 cup wood chips (preferably oak), unsoaked

    1. Make the sweet-and-sour sauce: heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the garlic and cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.  Add the pine nuts and currants and cook, stirring until the pine nuts are lightly browned, about 2 minutes.  Stir in the vinegar, honey and chocolate and bring to a boil.  Simmer the sauce until thick and syrupy, 3 to 5 minutes, whisking to mix in the chocolate.  Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.  Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the butter. (The sauce can be prepared up to 6 hours ahead and reheated.)
    2. Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to high.  Is using a gas grill, place the wood ships in the smoker box or in a smoker pouch and preheat until you see smoke.
    3. Cut the radicchio into wedges (each wedge should be about 1 inch thick at the outside edge).  Run a slender bamboo skewer or toothpick crosswise through each wedge to hold the leaves together.  You don't need to skewer the endives.  
    4. When ready to cook, if using a charcoal grill, toss the wood ships on the coals.  Arrange the radicchio and endives on the hot grate and grill until nicely browned, 3 to 5 minutes per side, turning with tongs.  After 1 minute baste the lettuces with the oil as they cook.
    5. Transfer the grilled lettuces to plates or a platter and serve with the sauce in a bowl on the side or drizzle it over them.  For a richer flavor, although less handsome appearance, turn the lettuces a few times to soak up the sauce.  Serve hot or warm.

Recipe: Coconut-Grilled Pineapple

Coconut-Grilled Pineapple
Recipe courtesy of Steven Raichlen, from his book How to Grill.

Serves 4 to 6
Cooking time: 8 to 12 minutes

You'll need:

1 ripe golden pineapple
1 can (14 ounces) unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/2 cups turbinado sugar or granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Sprigs of fresh mint, for garnish
1 quart vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt, for serving (optional)

    1. Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to high
    2. Prepare the pineapple.  First, grab the pineapple firmly in one hand and its leaves in the other.  Twist them in opposite directions to separate the leaves from the fruit.  Then, cut off the rind, first from the top and bottom of the fruit, then from the sides.  Cut it off in lengthwise strips, slicing deep enough to remove the eyes.  Next, cut the pineapple crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices.  Finally, use a melon baller or fruit corer to remove the fibrous core from the center of each slice.
    3. Shake the coconut milk well before opening the can.  Pour it into a wide shallow bowl.  Place the sugar and cinnamon in another wide, shallow bowl and stir with a fork to mix.
    4. When ready to cook, brush and oil the grill grate.  Dip each pineapple slice first in coconut milk, then in the sugar mixture, shaking off the excess between each dripping.  Arrange the slices on the hot grate and grill until nicely browned on both sides, 4 to 6 minutes per side.  If a crosshatch of grill marks is desired, rotate each slice 60 degrees after 2 to 3 minutes on each side.  Transfer the pineapple slices to plates or a platter for serving and garnish with mint sprigs.  Or serve in bowls over ice cream, if desired.  The pineapple can be served either hot or cold.



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