Chef Bryan Dooley of Bryan’s Black Mountain Barbecue is a thoughtful guy. In the midst of smoking hundreds of pounds of beef, pork and chicken, he thinks about vegetarians.

“I think about vegetables the way a vegetarian restaurant does,” he says. “To me, vegetables shouldn’t be an afterthought.”

True, and that’s why I named his vegetarian “pulled” spaghetti squash sandwich one of the best sandwiches (meat or otherwise) in the January 2010 issue of PHOENIX Magazine.

Make no mistake, Bryan’s BBQ is a meat lovers haven, but Dooley always has something up his chef’s coat sleeve for those who eschew meat. Besides the pulled squash sandwich that’s on the menu year-round, Dooley offers seasonal items, often geared toward the non-meat eaters.

This past summer, he whipped up a juicy heirloom tomato sandwich and this fall, he dazzled diners with a fried artichoke po’ boy.

He’s tinkering in the kitchen again, thinking about what to offer his vegetarian friends this spring.

And he’s come up with something creative, incredibly tasty, and yet, a tad on the quirky side.

He calls it Veg-A-Pickle-Pie.

Veg-A-Pickle-Pie? I snickered when he first told me the name, but then I tasted it, and while it has a funny name, there’s nothing silly about the layers of flavor Dooley’s packed into his vegetable pie.

So what is it, exactly?

It’s a savory pie with a natural sweetness that comes from two root vegetables roasted to coax out the inherent sugars. He layers a pie crust with pureed roasted sweet potatoes spiked with chipotle.

Next, he sprinkles chopped, pickled green beans over the sweet potatoes. He experimented with spinach, but he’s leaning toward the pickled green beans. On top of the green beans, he layers a roasted beet and herb puree, and then he bakes it.

The kicker — what makes the flavors pop — is the topping of dill pickles.

“I made the pie and thought, yeah, this is nice, but then I put the pickles on it and said YEAH, that’s it,” he says.

I know what you’re thinking. Pickles? I thought the same thing until I tasted it with and without the pickles. The dilly vinegar really heightens the flavor of the beets.

Still, homey dill pickle slices on this gorgeous pie? Dooley likes the funky look of a crinkle-cut pickle covered pie, but I asked him, “why not julienne (matchstick) the pickles to dress it up a bit?” After all, he has a plume of lemon-pepper vinaigrette dressed watercress sitting on the side.

“I like the kinda Route 66 look of the down home pickle slices,” he says.

To humor me, he juliennes the pickle slices, and admits that it’s easier to get a taste of pickle with every bite of the pie.

Even though Dooley is a trained chef with years of high-end resort cooking under his belt, he considers himself, at heart, a simple BBQ guy.

OK, but what simple BBQ guy dreams up olive-studded coleslaw and root beer marinated apple rings with pink peppercorns?

Or, a roasted beet and sweet potato pie with dill pickles?

The verdict?

I’d order it — and I’m not a vegetarian. Of course, I’d order it with a side of the toothy pork ribs or the tender beef brisket that put Bryan’s BBQ on the must-eat Valley dining map.

Dooley’s still tinkering with the recipe, and hasn’t decided if this will be his spring Vegetarian special or not (there are some logistics to work out), but one thing is for sure:

The guy loves to play in the kitchen, and while he’s stoking the pecan wood fire in his smoker full of meat, he’s dreaming of delicious ways to bring vegetarians to his table.

So what do you think? Would you order the Veg-A-Pickle Pie?

Bryan’s Black Mountain BBQ
6130 East Cave Creek Road, Cave Creek
480-575-7155

photo credits:1, 2, 3: Bryan Dooley; 4, 5: Gwen Ashley Walters

Tags: beets, Bryan Dooley, Bryan's BBQ, savory pie, sweet potatoes, Veg-A-Pickle-Pie, vegetarian
Posted in Restaurant Journal | No Comments »

June Taylor products are hot, hot, hot. Sizzling hot.

Seems everywhere I turn, I’m seeing them in a magazine, on a newsflash, or on my doorstep.

I can explain that last one. I ordered three of JT’s products because, as it has been well documented here and there, I can’t seem to stay away from gourmet items.

I ordered Quince Butter ($14), Candied Bergamot Peel ($12) and Rose Geranium Syrup ($18) after spotting June Taylor’s products in the Food 52 Shop (both a hallowed and dangerous place for people like me.)

I wanted to make something using all three products, but after tasting each of them, I realized that was too ambitious, even for me.

Sometimes chefs have the tendency to wrap too many flavors together, when really, less is more.

So I settled on the quince butter and the bergamot, combined with sweet potatoes. I’ll save the syrup for another post. It needs something simple to let its unique flavor shine through.

Roasting sweet potatoes is one of the easiest preparations, so that’s where I started. I wanted to make a sauce from the quince butter and then top the mixture with the bergamot peel.

Pretty straightforward. Simply peel the sweet potatoes, and cut them into 1-inch rounds.

Layer them in a buttered baking dish, preferably one that can go from oven to table, like this pretty Emile Henry.

The bergamot orange (which is yellow in color, not orange) is small, very acidic, and used mainly for its essential oil (in the peel) in everything from perfume to confections to tea — Earl Grey tea, specifically.

I steeped 1 bag of Earl Grey in a small amount of water, making a strong tea, in essence, to enhance the sauce, thinking it would tie the quince butter and bergamot peel topping together.

The tea went into a small saucepan with the quince butter and some real butter. There is no butter in fruit butters coming from a jar. They’re called “butter” because the fruit is cooked down to a thick puree that can be spread, like soft butter.

Wanting to keep the flavors from becoming too muddled, I resisted the temptation to throw in a bunch of spices, although you certainly could. You could throw in some booze, too, and normally, I would have, but it was early and I wasn’t thinking straight, so I didn’t.

I did throw in a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg because, well, I couldn’t resist the urge completely.

The quince butter, tea and real butter boil together just long enough to thicken and meld together. I really should have added some brandy or Grand Marnier; what was I thinking? Instead, I tarted it up with a splash of apple cider vinegar.

The thickened fruit butter mixture is spread over the sweet potatoes and then the pan goes into the oven.

You should know that the sauce is sparten on purpose. You could increase the quantities a bit if you want lots of sauce after roasting, but again, I was showing restraint, still wanting the flavor of the sweet potatoes to come through.

I promise this need for restraint will pass.

While the mixture is bubbling away in the oven, I chopped the bergamot peel — finely — with a knife. I tried to use my mini-food processor, but I was only successful in knocking off the sugar coating. The peel resisted the blade. Guess I wasn’t the only one resisting today.

A chef’s knife and a little elbow grease soon made mincemeat out of the tough, fragrant peel.

To add a bit of texture, I chopped some toasted pecans to sprinkle on top along with the chopped bergamot.

Now the dish can go to the table, in its pretty baking dish, for everyone to ooh and ahh over. Visually appealing, yes, but for me, it’s the taste that deserves cooing.

From the earthy sweet potatoes to the tart quince butter to the unique taste of the bergamot, this dish brings a little sophistication and a lot of complex flavors from just a few, simple, expensive, gourmet products.

But you’re worth it, aren’t you?

Roasted Sweet Potatoes
with Quince Butter and Bergamot Peel

Serves 4 or 5

Ingredients
1 Earl Grey tea bag
1/3 cup boiling water

2/3 cup June Taylor Quince Butter
1 tablespoon butter (+ 1 teaspoon for buttering pan)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Pinch of nutmeg

2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch rounds
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1/3 cup chopped toasted pecans
2 tablespoons finely chopped bergamot peel

Method
1. Heat the oven to 375º F.

2. Steep the Earl Grey tea in the 1/3 cup boiling water and set aside for 5 minutes. Discard tea bag and pour tea into a small saucepan with the quince butter, real butter, vinegar and pinch of nutmeg. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Butter a large baking dish with a teaspoon of softened butter. Lay the sweet potatoes in a single layer, fitting in as many rounds as you can.

4. Pour the reduced quince butter mixture over the top and spread evenly with a spatula. Cover with foil and place in the oven. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the potatoes are almost but not quite fork tender. Remove the foil and continue roasting for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender.

5. Remove from oven and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Now sprinkle with pecans and bergamot peel and serve.

NOTE: Let’s just say, for example, you don’t have June Taylor’s products on hand, but you like the idea of this dish. You can substitute the quince butter with apple butter, and the candied bergamot peel with regular candied orange peel.

Tags: candied bergamot peel, Food 52, June Taylor, quince butter, roasted sweet potatoes, sweet potatoes
Posted in Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegetarian | 4 Comments »

I learned how to make these sweet potatoes from a chef I used to work with at The Boulders. We didn’t used canned chiles — we roasted fresh chiles. If you’re so inclined, you can replace the canned diced green chiles with two roasted, peeled and chopped poblano peppers.

I especially love these the next day, when they really firm up quite nicely. If you bake this dish the day before, be sure to completely cool the dish (place in a shallow pan of ice water) before wrapping and storing in the fridge. Just reheat in a 300 degree oven until heated all the way through… about 20 to 30 minutes).

Southwestern Scalloped Sweet Potatoes

Serves 8

Ingredients
3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled
2 (4-ounce) cans diced green chiles, drained
2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter, cut into tiny chunks
3/4 cup crushed blue corn tortilla chips (about 18-20 chips)

Method
1. Heat the oven to 350°F.

2. Cut potatoes into 1/4-inch rounds. Grease a 9 X 13-inch inch baking dish. Layer the bottom with 1/2 of the potatoes, overlapping to cover any holes.

3. Sprinkle 1/2 the chiles evenly over the potatoes, half the Monterrey Jack cheese and half the Parmesan cheese. Repeat once more with potatoes, chiles, and cheeses.

4. Stir the cumin, cayenne and salt into the cream and pour over the potatoes. Dot with butter chunks and cover with foil. Bake 45-50 minutes, until potatoes are tender.

5. Uncover and sprinkle tortilla chips evenly over top. Return to oven, uncovered and bake an additional 10 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Remove and cool about 10 minutes before serving.

Tags: southwestern flavored sweet potatoes, sweet potatoes
Posted in Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegetarian | No Comments »

(tip courtesy of Brilliant Food Tips and Cooking Tricks by David Joachim (Rodale, Inc., 2001)

“The two most common varieties are white sweet potatoes and dark sweet potatoes, often mislabeled as yams. White sweet potatoes are much like regular baking potatoes.  They have a thin skin and pale yellow flesh, which becomes dry, crumbly, and not at all sweet after cooking.  The more popular dark sweet potatoes have a thicker, darker skin and bright orange flesh that cooks up moist and sweet.”

Tags: sweet potatoes
Posted in About Ingredients, Tips & Tutorials | 1 Comment »

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