Summer is completely here - bugs, humidity, and fireworks. And GRILLING!
Steve and I decided that July would be a good month to concentrate on eating food that's better for us. (This decision following our fantastic trip to St. Louis in which we each ate something called a Concrete. Its not called a Concrete for nothin'...) The last day of our trip was July 1. Do you know how hard it is to eat healthily in a roadside diner?!?
Sometimes this "eating healthy" thing means avoiding sweets, pop, fried foods, and junk food, but I still will use butter, oil, and other "whole ingredients." Personally, I'd rather eat food that is as natural as possible, rather than something that has a few less calories but a whole lot of fake ingredients. Personal choice, yours may be different!
So back home, we kicked it into full gear. Fresh fruits and veggies are overflowing on our countertop. The best part about having so many of these on hand is that you never have to think about what to have with supper. Corn, asparagus, green beans, watermelon, tangerines, blueberries, tomatoes, potatoes... they all work. These are short recipes, but really, during the summertime, isn't that what we're looking for anyway?
Note: Whenever you're marinating meat, it works so well to do so in a Ziploc bag and put that bag in a bowl, giving it a squeeze now and then. It keeps the marinade all over the meat, rather than the meat just sitting in the marinade in a dish.
Note II: We didn't serve the bruschetta on toast... we had it on grilled portobello mushrooms. Wow, that was good!
Roasted Country Ribs
Adapted from Epicurious.com
Ingredients
1.5-2 pounds country pork ribs (4-6, figure about 2 or 3 ribs per person)
2 Tablespoons coarse grain mustard (you can use dijon, but I like the tang of coarse grain)
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon Montreal steak seasoning (substitute your favorite seasoning mix here. Jane's Crazy Mixed-Up Salt would work too)
1 Tablespoon water
Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
In a bowl, whisk together mustard, vinegar, oil, seasoning, and water. Put ribs into a large Ziploc bag and pour the dressing on top and seal. Squeeze to cover ribs, and let sit for at least 15 minutes, but not more than 1 hour.
Put the ribs in a shallow glass baking dish and pour out all of the marinade on the top. Roast in the oven for about 45 minutes, until meat is between 160 and 170 degrees. Remove from oven, loosely cover with foil, and let rest for about 10 minutes longer (they're still cooking, but rather than getting over-cooked, this allows them to raise their temp and become more tender too).
Green Bean Bundles
From Paula Deen & Friends: Living it Up, Southern Style
Ingredients
Green beans, washed and trimmed (about 1 cup per person)
Butter (1 Tablespoon per person)
Salt & Pepper
Directions
Preheat grill for medium-high heat.
For each person, tear off a square of tin foil (12"x12" should do it). Put the green beans in the middle, and top with the butter (cut into small cubes), and salt and pepper to taste. Make each square of foil into a tightly-sealed bundle.
Place each bundle on the grill (direct heat) for 15 minutes.
Bruschetta
Adapted from "The Maroon Spoon" (Holland Christian Cookbook)
Ingredients
For Bruschetta:
6 chopped Roma (plum) tomatoes
1 cup fresh basil, chopped
1-14 ounce can artichoke hearts, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. vinegar (balsamic or white wine)
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. olive oil
For Toasts:
1 large french baguette, thinly sliced on diagonal
3 Tbsp. olive oil
Directions
For bruschetta, mix all ingredients together and let sit for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator. (Doesn't keep well for more than 48 hours if you use fresh basil. If you choose to use dried basil, you'll need less and it might keep a bit longer.)
For toasts, brush slices with olive oil and toast under broiler until golden brown, flipping once.
To serve, top toast with a spoonful of tomato mixture. Top with shredded parmesan if desired.
Showing posts with label roasting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label roasting. Show all posts
7.19.2010
6.22.2010
All-American?
In my humble opinion, I think hamburgers are the best example of an All-American food. They're not some far distant cousin to its original form like pizza, or an Americanized version of the real-deal, like Kung Pao Chicken. Sure, its named after a city in Germany, but from what I've read, that probably has more to do with where the inventor's parents came from, not the food itself.
So... burgers on the grill for supper tonight! We took some advice from Emeril and "kicked it up a notch." When we eat burgers, Steve usually requests this cucumber salad to go along with it. Its a nice contrast with the burger because of all its crunch and tangy-ness. The burgers were really good - I wouldn't go so far as to say fantastic, because they seemed a little dry. Granted, I did over-cook them slightly, but I wonder about making a goat-cheese spread and mixing it with some sour cream to give it a little more moisture. And some chives too? We'll have to see next time...
I don't have a specific recipe for everything we ate, but I'll walk you through our tasty summer supper!
Cucumber Salad
You could use regular cukes for this recipe, but I found out they're really hard for your body to digest unless you peel and seed them first. They make cool little half-moons if you do that, but I like crunchiness of hothouse cukes too. And they were on sale. :)
1 kirby/hothouse cucumber, thinly sliced
1/4 cup vinegar (be creative and use apple cider, rice, white wine, or distilled vinegar, or a combination! I usually use part rice vinegar and part distilled vinegar)
1/4ish white onion, thinly sliced
salt and pepper
Mix all of the ingredients and let sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving.
Turkey Burgers with Red Peppers and Goat Cheese
Wash red peppers, remove any stickers, and put them on the grill whole over high heat. Turning occasionally, grill until most of the skin is black and blistered, but not smoking. Remove and immediately put into a lidded bowl (I used my Pampered Chef classic batter bowl). Cover and let sit for 10-15 minutes, and then remove skin by rubbing it off. Slice open, cut out the stem, and scrape out any seeds and remaining core. Rinse under cool water, pat dry, and cut to desired size.
We roasted two red peppers for ourselves, but one would have been enough for the two of us. However, the leftovers will be great on sandwiches and in omlettes for the next few days!
Mix 1 package of ground turkey with a few cloves of chopped garlic and a handful of shredded white cheese (we used an Italian mix). Form into 4 patties with a slight depression in the middle - this prevents them from taking the shape of a football when grilling. Grill over medium-high heat, turning once, until cooked through (160 degrees inside).
For goat cheese/chevre, go to the store and buy goat cheese. (I like things that are homemade, but come on, I'm not making my own cheese! Not yet anyway...) Four ounces should do the trick for 4 people, but I bought the bigger one because I'll be using it tomorrow for breakfast!
Place turkey burger on a whole wheat bun and top each with a few slices of goat cheese and roasted red pepper.
So... burgers on the grill for supper tonight! We took some advice from Emeril and "kicked it up a notch." When we eat burgers, Steve usually requests this cucumber salad to go along with it. Its a nice contrast with the burger because of all its crunch and tangy-ness. The burgers were really good - I wouldn't go so far as to say fantastic, because they seemed a little dry. Granted, I did over-cook them slightly, but I wonder about making a goat-cheese spread and mixing it with some sour cream to give it a little more moisture. And some chives too? We'll have to see next time...
I don't have a specific recipe for everything we ate, but I'll walk you through our tasty summer supper!
Cucumber Salad
You could use regular cukes for this recipe, but I found out they're really hard for your body to digest unless you peel and seed them first. They make cool little half-moons if you do that, but I like crunchiness of hothouse cukes too. And they were on sale. :)
1 kirby/hothouse cucumber, thinly sliced
1/4 cup vinegar (be creative and use apple cider, rice, white wine, or distilled vinegar, or a combination! I usually use part rice vinegar and part distilled vinegar)
1/4ish white onion, thinly sliced
salt and pepper
Mix all of the ingredients and let sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving.
Turkey Burgers with Red Peppers and Goat Cheese
Wash red peppers, remove any stickers, and put them on the grill whole over high heat. Turning occasionally, grill until most of the skin is black and blistered, but not smoking. Remove and immediately put into a lidded bowl (I used my Pampered Chef classic batter bowl). Cover and let sit for 10-15 minutes, and then remove skin by rubbing it off. Slice open, cut out the stem, and scrape out any seeds and remaining core. Rinse under cool water, pat dry, and cut to desired size.
We roasted two red peppers for ourselves, but one would have been enough for the two of us. However, the leftovers will be great on sandwiches and in omlettes for the next few days!
Mix 1 package of ground turkey with a few cloves of chopped garlic and a handful of shredded white cheese (we used an Italian mix). Form into 4 patties with a slight depression in the middle - this prevents them from taking the shape of a football when grilling. Grill over medium-high heat, turning once, until cooked through (160 degrees inside).
For goat cheese/chevre, go to the store and buy goat cheese. (I like things that are homemade, but come on, I'm not making my own cheese! Not yet anyway...) Four ounces should do the trick for 4 people, but I bought the bigger one because I'll be using it tomorrow for breakfast!
Place turkey burger on a whole wheat bun and top each with a few slices of goat cheese and roasted red pepper.
2.26.2010
Roasted Butternut Squash and Pear Soup
I'm really into roasting things lately. Its so easy and food comes out with so much more flavor! I bought a butternut squash at the store because Henry really likes them, so I had to find something to make with it for Steve and me to eat. And, I had some gorgonzola on hand... it was on sale. This is the perfect recipe for that combination. I roasted all of the veggies and pears the night before, so all I had to do was re-heat and blend. It looks like a lot of ingredients, but many of them are things you probably have on-hand.
Roasted Butternut Squash and Pear Soup
Adapted from www.eatingwell.com
Ingredients
2 ripe pears, peeled, quartered and cored
2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 2-inch chunks (make sure you peel all the way through the thick outer layer)
2 medium tomatoes, cored and quartered (substitute 1 can diced tomatoes, drained if desired)
1 large Vidalia onion, peeled and quartered
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
Freshly ground pepper to taste
4 cups vegetable broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
2/3 cup crumbled blue-veined cheese
Directions
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Combine pears, squash, tomatoes (if using fresh), onion, garlic, oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper in a large bowl; toss to coat. Spread evenly on a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, 40 to 55 minutes. Let cool slightly or refrigerate until ready to use.
In a large soup pot, combine the cooked veggies and pears, chicken stock, and tomatoes (if using canned). Bring to a simmer and remove from heat. Using an immersion blender, blend until there are no more chunks of vegetables and soup is smooth. If you do not have an immersion blender, puree half of the soup at a time in a blender or food processor. Return to heat and bring to a simmer. Top with cheese or serve on the side.
Makes 8 cups.
Roasted Butternut Squash and Pear Soup
Adapted from www.eatingwell.com
Ingredients
2 ripe pears, peeled, quartered and cored
2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 2-inch chunks (make sure you peel all the way through the thick outer layer)
2 medium tomatoes, cored and quartered (substitute 1 can diced tomatoes, drained if desired)
1 large Vidalia onion, peeled and quartered
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
Freshly ground pepper to taste
4 cups vegetable broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
2/3 cup crumbled blue-veined cheese
Directions
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Combine pears, squash, tomatoes (if using fresh), onion, garlic, oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper in a large bowl; toss to coat. Spread evenly on a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, 40 to 55 minutes. Let cool slightly or refrigerate until ready to use.
In a large soup pot, combine the cooked veggies and pears, chicken stock, and tomatoes (if using canned). Bring to a simmer and remove from heat. Using an immersion blender, blend until there are no more chunks of vegetables and soup is smooth. If you do not have an immersion blender, puree half of the soup at a time in a blender or food processor. Return to heat and bring to a simmer. Top with cheese or serve on the side.
Makes 8 cups.
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