Grill Everything this Memorial Day

There are some hot days when you just don’t care to turn on your oven or stove.  Because…why waste a perfectly good grill when it’s a beautiful day outside?  Especially on Memorial Day.

Greg and I recently enjoyed an awesome meal of Sirloin Steaks, Potatoes sliced thickly and delicious tender asparagus, all lightly oiled and salt and peppered before grilling.  I made a *mustard/horseradish sauce and also used Heinz 57 sauce for the steaks.  It was a quick meal that we could have served to a group of friends anytime (and maybe will this Memorial Day!).

The Top Sirloin Steaks were awesome, full of flavor with hardly any fat, the perfect size for a nice meal (these were 5 oz).  They were sent to us by Omaha steaks and were very high quality.  I really like the way they were packed in a cooler for shipping and completely frozen but seemed, and tasted, so fresh when we thawed them.

Greg took care to get the grill marks perfect on them, mostly so my photo would show well, but I have to admit…great grill marks on meat are very appetizing.   And, he cooked them perfectly, dark pink in the middle…yum!

Full disclosure on the potatoes – each was micro waved whole on high for three minutes before slicing and grilling.  So…while I didn’t use the oven or stove top, I did use a kitchen appliance.

*Horseradish Mustard Sauce – Mix 3-4 tablespoons sour cream, 3-4 tablespoons mayo, 2-3 teaspoons Dijon mustard, horseradish to taste.

Here’s a secret…the sauce is the key.

I’ve always been a fan of fish tacos…they’re my signature dish to try at new restaurants and I’ve prepared them every which way here at home.  I’ve tried them fried, sauteed, and baked, with white fish, salmon, or shrimp.  The insides stuffed with greens, shredded cabbage, cheese and no cheese.

The one thing I’ve learned about fish tacos is the the sauce really is the key to a successful dish.  Sauces at restaurants range from avocado sauce to salsa to sour cream.  Whether the fish is fried or sauteed, if the sauce isn’t tasty, the taco isn’t tasty.

The blend of ingredients that I love is a white fish, like Tilapia, sauteed after a dusting with corn starch and spices (this makes it a little crunchy without frying), and my tasty Chipotle Aioli. It’s such an easy sauce and honestly, makes the taco a success.

While the photo here shows chopped lettuce, I do enjoy shredded cabbage more (this is just what I had in the fridge the other night).

Be sure to read the cooking tip* below on how to store chipotle peppers.

Fish Tacos

• 4 tablespoons mayo
• 1 teaspoon chipotle pepper diced finely*
• Lemon juice
• 2 Tilapia filets
• Garlic salt and lemon pepper
• Corn starch
• Canola oil
• Your choice of tortillas, cheese, greens or shredded cabbage, cilantro, peppers and avocado.

Mix mayo with pepper and add a few drops of lemon juice.

Dust Tilapia filets with salt, pepper and corn starch.  Saute them in a bit of oil over medium heat.  Let drain on paper towels.

Construct your tacos.  I like low carb flour tortillas at home but usually order fresh corn tortillas at restaurants.  I get them crunchy by cooking them on a non stick griddle with a tiny amount of oil.

*Cooking Tip – Have you ever opened a can of chipotle peppers and realized that you only had to use a small amount?  Well, don’t throw the rest away!  I mince up the entire can in my food processor and then split it up into 2 tablespoons each into freezer baggies.  Then I just take out the small amount I need when I need it.  After defrosting your chipotle should last several weeks in the fridge.

Recently I published an article about Salmon baked in parchment paper with dill.  It was so delicious but parchment paper is difficult to wrap sometimes (but prettier on a plate than foil).  Even so, I saw a photo of Salmon baked in foil on Pinterest and decided to try the recipe.

Firstly, this recipe has a lot of juice from the tomatoes…so foil really is called for here.  But, I found that the foil steamed the fish just as well as parchment and was much easier to wrap.  I wouldn’t serve the foil on a plate but, as you can see below, the fish looks delicious without parchment or foil.

This is an easy dish to make any night of the week and has very little oil so it’s also good for your waistline.  I’m looking forward to trying the foil wrap with other flavors too!

I served this dish with a Ceasar Salad and stuffed baked potato from Omaha Steaks.  The potatoes are perfect for a simple dinner or an elegant dinner party – beautiful and delicious with just the right amount of green onions and bacon.

Salmon Baked in Foil

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

4 servings

Ingredients

• 4 (5 ounces each) salmon fillets
• 2 teaspoons olive oil plus 2 tablespoons
• Garlic Salt and Lemon Pepper
• 3 tomatoes, chopped, or 1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes, drained
• 2 chopped shallots
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Sprinkle salmon with 2 teaspoons olive oil, salt, and pepper. Stir the tomatoes, shallots, 2 tablespoons of oil, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper in a medium bowl to blend.

Place a salmon fillet, oiled side down, atop a sheet of foil. Wrap the ends of the foil to form a spiral shape. Spoon the tomato mixture over the salmon. Fold the sides of the foil over the fish and tomato mixture, covering completely; seal the packets closed. Place the foil packet on a heavy large baking sheet. Repeat until all of the salmon have been individually wrapped in foil and placed on the baking sheet. Bake until the salmon is just cooked through, about 25 minutes. Using a large metal spatula, transfer the foil packets to plates and serve.

SERVES 4

We’re all looking forward to grilled chicken, steak and tri tip (my favorite) but those beans and pasta salads are what we crave too so taking a little extra time to make them special will ensure that your meal will be awesome.

Why take baked beans out of a can and warm them up when you can add a few other ingredients and serve a dish that everyone will savor?  Spicy Baked Beans are my favorite dish to bring to family and friend gatherings such as barbeques and picnics.  The turmeric in the yellow mustard gives this delicious dish both a golden color and a tangy taste.  Including black beans and kidney beans adds to the color combination that your guests will relish but most recently I left out black beans and cooked the beans longer than before.  The result was a tasty, dark brown and caramel style bean dish that everyone loved.

While the photo shown below is before the beans go into the oven, take my word for it…cooking it longer in the oven makes a huge difference in taste.

Spicy Baked Beans

• 1 lb  ground pork breakfast sausage
• 1 large sweet onion, chopped
• 2 (28 ounce) cans baked beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup bottled bbq sauce
• 1/3 cup yellow mustard (a must)
• 1 ts black pepper
• ½ ts ground red pepper (or more)
• 1 ts garlic powder (or more to taste)

1. Cook sausage in a large oven proof skillet over medium heat until done (drain all liquid but 2 teaspoons)
2. Stir in and cook onion for about 5 minutes with sausage
3. Add the rest of the ingredients
4. Cook on the stove top with a lid until thick and bubbly,then without a lid until most of the liquid is gone (about 45 minutes).  Place in the oven with foil covered and bake at 250 degrees for another hour or so until the beans are carmeled with a browned crust.

One of my favorite parties to attend when I lived in California was given every New Years Day by a college friend.  Of Japanese descent, Patty would set a huge table with lots of delicious Asian foods including the best Pork cutlets and fresh Sushi.  If you arrived to the party a bit hung over from the New Years Eve festivities you could always count on a delicious Noodle Soup to help heal your body.  Guests grazed on the tasty Asian food all afternoon and generally Greg and I would go home to take a nap afterwards.

I always looked forward to her Pork Tonkatsu and while I don’t have Patty’s recipe I’ve made it a few times on my own and can recommend my own creation too!

Pork Tonkatsu

Pound the pork into very thin cutlets to get the best crust-to-meat ratio.

4 servings

½ cup Ponzu or Soy Sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more if needed
1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper plus more
2 large eggs
2 cups Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

4 4-ounce boneless center-cut pork loin chops, pounded to 1/8″ thickness
6 tablespoon vegetable oil, divided

Tonkatsu Sauce (recipe below)
Ingredient info: Panko can be found in better supermarkets and at Asian markets. Ponzu sauce is a citrus soy sauce.  I prefer it in recipes to regular soy sauce.

1.  Marinate Pork in Ponzu or Soy Sauce for about 1 hour.
2. Whisk eggs and mustard in a medium bowl. Combine Panko, salt and pepper on a large plate. Season pork lightly with salt and pepper. Dip in egg mixture, then in Panko, pressing to adhere.
3. Working in 2 batches, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and cook pork until golden brown and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side, adding 1 tablespoon vegetable oil after turning. Drain on paper towels.
4. Serve with Tonkatsu Sauce drizzled over and a Rice Noodle and Vegetable Salad (I made an easier version this time without the chicken and some of the veggies).

Tonkatsu Sauce

• 1 cup ketchup
• 4 teaspoons dry mustard powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons ginger
• 4 teaspoons seasoned rice wine vinegar
• 4 teaspoons Ponzu or Soy Sauce
• 1 teaspoon Splenda or 2 teaspoons sugar

In a small bowl, stir together all ingredients.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

With well over 250 recipes posted in the past few years you would think that I’ve covered all of the basics.  But as I read through some of my binders of recipes 

and cookbooks 

I realize that I’m just getting started!  And…that there’s many tried and true recipes that I haven’t even prepared in over 2 years!

So…I present to you my Chicken Piccata recipe.  Enjoy this tasty meal soon with family and friends!

Chicken Piccata

• 4 chicken breasts – butter flied and pounded thin or 8-10 chicken tenders
• Olive oil
• 2 TB capers
• 8-10 mushrooms, sliced thin
• 1 small yellow onion – French cut thin
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• salt and pepper
• ½ c flour
• ½ c white wine
• butter
• lemon juice
• 8 thin lemon slices and chopped parsley for garnish

1. Warm oil in sauté pan
2. Sautee onion until translucent, then add garlic – remove from the pan.
3. Dust chicken with flour and salt and pepper
4. Sautee chicken until light brown on both sides.  Don’t worry about the chicken sticking to the pan as the flavorful brown bits will make the dish even more delicious. Place the chicken on a plate and cover to keep it warm.
5. Add wine and scrape up the browned bits – this is called *deglazing.
6. Reduce fire a bit, add capers and a little lemon juice
7. Add mushrooms and the cooked onion and garlic
8. Add a few pats of butter for flavor. Taste the sauce to see if it needs more of any of the ingredients.
9. Add lemon slices and chopped parsley
10. Then cook in sauce until everything is warm.

*Cooking Tip: Deglazing means to pour some cold liquid into a very hot pan to get up all the brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Those brown bits are where all the flavors are, and it is called “fond.” Fond is French for “bottom”.

After you have browned the meat and removed it from the pan, remove the excess fat. Heat the pan over medium-high heat as you add about a cup of which ever liquid of your choice. The heat will help loosen and dissolve the really stubborn deposits as you scrape the pan with a straight edged metal spatula. The deglazing liquid can be wine, stock, almost any liquid, even water. The idea is to loosen up any bits of meat and all that “burned” on stuff that is stuck on the bottom of the pan and incorporate them into the liquid because they have lots of flavor.

But I can also make a meal out of it….

There are many Broccoli Salad recipes in the food world but I can confidently say that this one is a winner.  The dressing is sweet and tangy but not overly sweet.  The two ingredients you cannot forget are the bacon and sunflower seeds…its just not a broccoli salad without them!  I also love to have mixed color jumbo raisins as they add both color, chewiness and sweetness.

This salad makes a colorful presentation and is a popular dish to bring to parties or entertain with.  I last published this recipe 3 years ago and have only changed one thing…I now use Splenda instead of sugar.  One friend suggested shredded cheddar cheese and I might try that sometime but I have to say…this recipe is perfection!

BROCCOLI SALAD 

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup sugar (I use Splenda and reduce quantity by 1/2 or to taste)
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
•  2 ½ lb  broccoli, florettes only – chopped to bite sized
• ½ large red onion, thinly sliced
• 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 8 ounces crisp cooked bacon, crumbled
• ½ cup roasted and salted sunflower seeds
• ½ cup jumbo mixed color raisins

Place dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth and well incorporated.

Place salad ingredients in a large bowl; add dressing a half-hour before serving and toss.  Try adding ½ of the dressing and then more to taste.

For a different look and taste I sometimes use ½ cabbage and ½ broccoli.  You can also add peas to the recipe for additional flavor and fiber.

In my last post I mentioned that I’m not a big fan of liquid marinades.  They seem to break down the meat a bit too much and make it soggy (and tasting like vinegar).  That’s why a paste or rub is perfect for meat that needs a bit of a flavor boost and this paste marinade is such a great idea.  Plus, Greg likes the fact that most of the paste is wiped off before grilling so you don’t have such a mess on the grill.

This recipe from Cook’s Illustrated Magazine is definitely more of a “weekend bbq warrior” type of recipe because it does require some marinating time.  It’s perfect for entertaining especially with the warm spring and summer weather here and grilling a weekend activity.  I only marinated my meat in the paste for a few hours and it came out juicy and tasty.

I’m looking forward to trying the other paste marinades listed below from Cook’s Illustrated soon!

The flank steak is a beef steak cut from the abdominal muscles of the cow. A relatively long and flat cut of meat, it is significantly tougher than other beef cuts; and you need to cut it on the bias.  Here’s a video that explains how to do that.   http://www.kitchendaily.com/2010/12/24/how-to-slice-flank-steak/

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak

Serves 4 to 6

 Remember to cut your steak against the grain and on a bias so it’s tender and juicy.   I prefer flank steak cooked rare or medium rare. If the steak is to retain its juices, it must be allowed to rest before being sliced.

•  1 whole flank steak (about 2 pounds), patted dry with paper towels
•  2 tsp kosher salt
•  1 recipe wet paste marinade (recipes follow – I used Garlic Shallot Rosemary)
•  1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1. Place steak on rimmed baking sheet or in large baking dish. Using dinner fork, poke the steak about 20 times on each side. Rub both sides of steak evenly with salt and then with paste. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

2. Using paper towels, wipe paste off steak; season both sides with pepper.

If on coals: Grill steak directly over coals until well browned, 4 to 6 minutes. Using tongs, flip steak; grill until second side is well browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Using paring knife, make small cut into thickest part of meat; if meat is slightly less done than desired, transfer steak to cutting board (meat will continue to cook as it rests). If steak is significantly underdone, position so that thinner side is over cooler side of grill and thicker side is over hot side; continue to cook until thickest part is slightly less done than desired, then transfer steak to cutting board.

If using a gas grill, cook the steak over high heat, following the times in step 3, but keep the cover down. If the meat is significantly underdone when tested with a paring knife, turn off one burner and position the steak so that the thinner side is over the cooler part of the grill and the thicker side is over the hot part of the grill.

3. Loosely tent steak with foil; let rest 5 to 10 minutes. Using sharp chef’s knife or carving knife, slice steak about 1/4 inch thick against grain and on bias. Serve immediately.

Garlic-Shallot-Rosemary Wet Paste Marinade

6 tbsp olive oil
6 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (2 tbsp)
1 medium shallot, minced (about 3 tbsp)
2 tbsp minced fresh rosemary leaves

Puree all ingredients in blender until smooth, scraping down blender jar as needed.

Garlic-Ginger-Sesame Wet Paste Marinade

4 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 piece (about 3 inches) fresh ginger, peeled and minced (about 3 tbsp)
2 medium scallions, minced (about 3 tbsp)
3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (1 tbsp)

Puree all ingredients in blender until smooth, scraping down blender jar as needed.

Garlic-Chile Wet Paste Marinade

6 tbsp corn or vegetable oil
6 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (2 tbsp)
2 medium scallions, minced (about 3 tbsp)
1 medium chipotle chile in adobo sauce, minced (about 1 tbsp)
1 medium jalapeno chile, minced (about 1 tbsp)

Puree all ingredients in blender until smooth, scraping down blender jar as needed.

On busy week nights you probably don’t have much time to even think about marinating meat that you’re going to grill, much less doing it.  That’s why I’ve been working more with dry rubs lately that incorporate the same flavors into a sauce.  This adobo pork recipe is similar to one I did in the past when I had more time, but it takes less time and I think, is just as good as the marinated pork.

This tasty meal is quick and easy to prepare and goes really well with grilled onions and asparagus.  Make sure that you don’t grill it too long so there’s still a bit of pink in the meat.  Then, let the meat rest on a cutting board before serving or slicing it.  That’s the real secret to succulent, delicious pork loin.

Note…we actually made three meals out of this one recipe!  See the cooking tips below.

Grilled Adobo Pork with Dry Rub

4-5 servings

Olive Oil

1/2 large onion, peeled and chopped (plus ½ sliced thickly for grilling)
1/2 cup less-sodium chicken broth

3 tablespoons Pasilla Chile Powder
1/4 teaspoon ground oregano
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Dash of ground allspice
3 dashes cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

4-5 (6-ounce) pork loin chops (about 1/2 inch thick), trimmed and pounded a bit flatter

2 tablespoons fresh grapefruit juice
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Lime wedges

Heat a large skillet coated with olive oil over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook 5 minutes or until browned, turning frequently.  While it’s sautéing, combine chile powder through salt into a dry rub.  Add ½ of rub mix to onions and sauté a bit longer.  Add broth and simmer until sauce is thickened.  Add the juice. Remove from heat; cool slightly.

After pounding pork add rub some olive oil over each piece and rub in the remaining dry rub.

Prepare grill.  Place pork on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes on each side or until thermometer registers 160° (slightly pink. Remove from heat; top with warm sauce.

Tips for Cooking for Two….We grilled the five loins and then chopped the rest…one went into two wraps for lunch the next day and two in a delicious green salad with feta and fruit the next night.

Taking less than 15 minutes to prepare, and with hardly any prep work, you could make this dish for your family any day of the week.  Greg and I enjoy the leftovers for lunch the next day too and it heats up in the microwave just fine.  I added the yogurt to the Rachel Ray recipe for creaminess but you can go without yogurt too.  Enjoy this soon!

Chickpeas and Spinach

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup canned chopped tomatoes
• 3 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 15 1/2 ounce can  chickpeas, rinsed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 10 ounce package  frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and drained well.
• 1/4 -1/2 cup yogurt

1.  In a wok or large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until the edges are browned, about 4 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, coriander, cumin, garam masala and turmeric. Lower the heat to medium and cook for 3 minutes more.
2. Stir in the chickpeas, add the salt and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach and yogurt and cook about 5 minutes more.

Pick up garam masala, a traditional Indian spice blend, in the spice aisle.

Inspired by Every Day with Rachel Ray Magazine