Barbecue For Real

I was eating some grilled salmon steaks the other evening (along with grilled red potatoes and a green salad). I thought to myself, you know, some biscuits would really MAKE this meal.

So I got to fiddling around in the kitchen...I wanted some biscuits quickly. I also wanted something easy. Here's what I came up with:

Quick BBQ Biscuits

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 Tablespoons mustard (I like the coarse, stone-ground kind)
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil or butter (or margarine), at room temperature
• 2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons water or beer, at room temperature

Combine the mustard, oil, and water/beer in a large bowl. Sift in about 1/4 cup of the flour, and whisk to remove lumps. Then, sift in the remaining flour, the salt, and the baking powder. Stir to thoroughly combine. The mixture should be about as thick as peanut butter.

Using a spatula, spread the mixture (in a roughly rectangular shape) on a large, greased sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil. The mixture will be sticky, so you might want to grease the spatula, as well. Spread the mixture out so that it's roughly eight by ten inches, and about 1/2 inch thick.*

Lay the foil sheet onto a pre-heated grill, and close the lid. It should take about 10 minutes for the mixture to begin to rise, and develop a golden-brown crust. Keep checking every few minutes, until the biscuits are done to your liking.

*Alternately, the dough may be spread on the foil, then placed on a baking sheet. Bake (in the oven) at 425 degrees F, for about 15 minutes.

Last evening, I decided to put to use some tomatillos that I had, left over from other recipes. I've always liked tomatillos thinly sliced, as a sandwich or burger topping; this time, I thought I'd take it a step further, and make an awesome relish.

Tomatillo Relish

-1 large-sized tomatillo (about tennis-ball size), or two smaller ones
-1 jalapeno chili pepper, OR 1 red cherry pepper
-1/2 a medium-sized onion
-1 clove garlic
-1 tsp lemon juice
-1 tsp brown sugar
-1/2 tsp olive oil (approximately)
-1/2 tsp celery seed

-1 TBS fresh cilantro (or parsley), chopped
-salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Start by finely chopping the tomatillo, chili pepper, onion and garlic. A food processor will work, but please don't let the vegetables process into a paste...you want some little chunks in there!

Add the chopped vegetables to a container with a tight-fitting lid. A plastic food-storage container is perfect, as the relish will be stored in it! Add the remaining ingredients, and put the lid onto the container. Shake and swirl the container to thoroughly mix the ingredients. That's it, you're done.

Let the mixture rest in the refrigerator for at least one hour before using, to allow the flavors to blend. Immediately before serving, give the container another shake. Use to top hot dogs and burgers, or add it to a sandwich. Makes about 1 cup.