Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Chimichurri or "Sauce for the goose, Mr. Saavik." *


I've been writing this blog for nearly 4 months, during that time I've learned a few things. Probably the most interesting thing is that, based on the numbers and time of day visits come in, there is a good chance you're reading this at work.

How do I know this? Well there is a definite pattern to your visits. There is always a surge of visits during the first 24 hours after a post, (thank you to all of you who have subscribed to the RSS feed). Thereafter I see a drop of 50% from the previous days' visits. Well you say, that still doesn't explain how I know you're at work!

Here's the thing, on weekends visits disappear. I can post on a Saturday morning and it'll be Monday before the hits match a typical mid-week post. So, given that most hits come in during working hours mid-week, I can only assume that you're at your desk, skimming Crabby. I'm actively contributing to the degradation of the productivity of the workforce! I couldn't be more proud! So please, keep reading, print off the recipes so you can stop at the market on your way home, and keep sticking it to the man!

Another thing I've learned is that Crab Nation loves sauces. The Red Pepper & Toasted Sesame Sauce recipe far and away evinced the greatest reader input. The discussion surrounding the Grilled Sweet & Spicy Shrimp was a close second. This confirms something I've always suspected, it's always about the sauce. We care less about the thing being cooked and more about what gets put on it to affect the flavor. Covered in the right sauce, we'd all happily eat an SUV!

So, in the spirit of responding to my readers, in the hope of keeping you all a little sauced, here's a recipe for a Chimichurri Sauce. Chimichurri is said to be of Argentinian origin, which would explain why it goes so well with beef, but it's a great accompaniment for virtually any grilled meat, whether beef, chicken, pork, lamb or fish (though I'd stay away from salmon). So fire up the grill and add a little South America to your life.


Crabby's Chimichurri Sauce

8 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded, de-veined and minced
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh oregano, finely chopped
2 limes, juiced
1 1/2 cups, olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns

Combine the garlic, jalapeno and red wine vinegar in a medium size bowl.

Stir in the parsley, oregano and lime juice, (for a more Mexican flavor, consider using cilantro instead of oregano).

Gradually whisk in the olive oil. Lightly salt and pepper the chimichurri.

Set aside at room temperature for 1 hour, allowing the flavors to intermingle, before serving check to see if more salt or pepper is needed.


That's it. Easy!! Chimichurri is the "little black dress" of sauces, it spices up an event and goes with just about everything. Speaking of spicy, consider adding another jalapeno (or leave the seeds and veins in) if you're looking for more heat. If you're serving lamb, try adding mint instead of oregano. It's really hard to screw up this sauce, so have some fun.

I'll be back soon, until then, remember, you can do it, you can cook!


Oh, yeah...

* Crabby Quiz: The title of this post includes a movie quote: name the movie, the character saying it, and the actor portraying that character. Bonus Question: Who played Mr. Saavik?


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Of course the sauce is the most noticed blog. When matching wine and food, the sauce is the boss. The sauce has the greatest concentration of aromas and flavors and it does the most to influence the texture of the dish. The texture is important when deciding how much acid you want in the wine, No not LSD, but tannic, malic or lactic acid of wine. The richer the dish, the more acid you want from the wine to balance the cloying consitency of the sauce.

WWBob

PS I dont read this at work, cuz I dont have a puter at work, just a corkscrew and a glass and a spit bucket.

Deborah said...

Yes - I am at work reading this!! I just made chimichurri for the first time and fell in love!

Anonymous said...

Kirstie Alley played Mr. Saavik.

www.crabbycook.com said...

That's right Joe. Kirstie Alley about 200 pounds ago, (100 up, 100 down), played the role of Vulcan Mr. Saavik. Of course, that leaves the name of the movie, the character saying the words and the actor. That should be the easy part.

Remember, no googling!

Anonymous said...

Not reading this at work ...

Anonymous said...

without googling, and many many months late to the game, my guess would be Captain James T Kirk played by William Shatner in the second Star Trek film, The Wrath of Khan.