Nicole Is Cooking

Either for Christmas or my birthday last year I got some Bed Bath & Beyond gift cards and had no idea what to do with them because they don’t carry my kitchen knives and I am fairly well stocked at home. None of my linens really needed replacing so of course I was wandering around the kitchen stuff since I naturally gravitate toward that section anyway. What I ended up with was a cast iron indoor grill. (You will meet my cast iron Dutch Oven soon enough!)

The Grill

I was very leery of the grill at first. First, it is a TV chef branded product (still the only one I own) but of all the things I saw at the store that day, the grill was the most appealing. Second, it came pre-seasoned. And finally, the instructions say to use soap on it! (I am adamantly against soap on my cast iron or wok.) However, after the initial fire-alarm-setting-off use, both Fantôme Chocolat and I have become quite fond of the grill. He even has one at his place now too. We both get a fair bit of use out of our grills.

A lot of the time, we just whip up a marinade and throw some fresh veggies on the grill. Another favorite is mock duck.

The “Duck”

This is a hit with both of us. Fantôme Chocolat got on a dangerous duck kick a while ago and finds this an acceptable low fat substitute. He says they have the flavor down but of course the texture is off. I think it is a tasty alternative to tofu. I try not to use it too much though because it is still a processed food. I know it is vegetarian, I am not sure if it is suitable for vegans though because I am not up on the vegan “gotcha” ingredients. If you are in the DC area and interested in trying it, I always find it at Terry’s Health Food in Rockville (now that I have tipped you off to it, just make sure you leave some for me!).

Mock duck and veggies on the grill.

For marinades, we use a number of combinations of items. I am always on the look out for sauces that are free of high fructose corn syrup and just mix a bunch of things together. My favorite starting point is probably Thai chili sauce. Whole Foods and, for DC people, Yes! Market are a good place to look for sauces if you want items without HFCS (I looked at a conventional grocery store one day and picked up 20 items easily and could not find one without HFCS).

After marinading a bit, just start grilling. Fantôme Chocolat has become quite good with the grill marks.

Fabulous grill marks.