Grill + Tomatoes = Awesome!

Summer and grilling go hand in hand, right?  So do tomatoes and summer, right?  So why can’t tomatoes and grilling have the same relationship?!

With tomatoes and green beans growing like crazy, there is a necessity to use them.  Garden fresh tomatoes are the absolute best (if not by themselves) with basil, fresh mozzarella, evoo, and balsamic vinegar (otherwise known as a caprese salad (which I have seen with nine million different ways with the same ingredients)).  They are even better when that fresh mozzarella is melted into the tomatoes!

I had some pork chops in brine (water, equal parts sugar and salt, evoo, black pepper, and a few sprigs of thyme from the garden) overnight, which I rinsed/patted dry, and lightly seasoned with evoo, and s&p, before tossing onto the grill.  While those were starting, I steamed some green beans in a covered sauté pan; and sliced a large tomato into thick slices.  I then seasoned the tomato slices with evoo, s&p and topped them with sliced fresh mozzarella before placing them onto the veggie tray on the grill (over low heat).  I gave the chops a quick flip and closed the lid.

With everything almost ready, I removed the lid from the beans to let the bit of water evaporate before adding a touch of butter and garlic and cranking the heat for a quick finish.  I pulled everything from the grill, placing the tomatoes on a small plate (which hosted a touch of balsamic vinegar that was anxious to soak into the warm tomatoes).  Then topped them with a chiffonade of fresh basil before transferring them to the dinner plate aside the green beans (topped with a smidge of shaved Parmesan) and the pork.

So…Summer = Garden + Grill!

Steak n Tomatoes!

Think of this as No Pans, part deux.  Grilled NY strip topped with grilled tomatoes and onions, served with grilled green beans.  ”Grill” being the key word (obviously!).

I had found a few NY strips on sale and was totally craving steak, so I had picked them up at the store, hoping that I would have time to actually make them.  Then, knowing that they were sitting in the fridge and not wanting to waste the money I had spent on them, I made time.  I didn’t have a chance to marinate them, so I gave a quick rub with evoo, garlic salt, and black pepper.  Easy, flavorful, med-rare steak.

The real star…I had picked a few cherry tomatoes, a few green beans (a ‘scant’ few, as they were ‘in-between’ pickings) and a small yellow onion from the garden.  Not wanting to dirty any pans, I was thankful for the ‘veggie tray’ on our grill (basically, a screen that sits on the grates and doesn’t allow small pieces to fall through).  I halved the onion and lightly seasoned everything with evoo and s&p.  For the tomatoes, I kept a small bowl nearby containing a bit of balsamic vinegar and evoo.  They only took a few minutes to heat up and almost burst, so I promptly moved them to the bowl and gave a quick toss, followed by the onion (which I sliced a bit more after grilling) and another quick toss.

The beans were ready shortly after, with a light char on them.  That charred flavor was excellent!  But, the beans could have used a light steaming prior to the grill in order to soften them up a bit.

The tomato ‘relish (if you will)’ was a fantastic accompaniment to the steak.  Screw steak and potatoes, I’ll have steak and TOMATOES!

Garden dinner!

Where the heck has this summer gone?!  Oh, I’ve been working an entire month between days off…that might have something to do with why time is passing so quickly (obviously leaving me with no time to write).  I have managed to cook a bit here and there, as well as avoid fast food (with the exception of a few lazy days).  I have not managed to keep my garden in check on a weekly basis, so it has become (nearly) overgrown and full of weeds.  With tomatoes blooming and beans making their presence very well known, I have done a bit of occasional harvesting.  This being one of those occasions (mind you it was almost three weeks ago!).

The one and only zucchini that was hiding among the giant leaves was beautiful.  It was nearly a foot in length (I know…that’s what she said)!  It was also delicious!  I sliced it into medallions and tossed it with a bit of evoo and s&p before placing it on the grill.  I also halved a small yellow onion from the garden and prepared it the same way.  A few minutes later, a flip, and perfect!

The aforementioned beans were a bit of a conundrum (Conundrum being one of my favorite white wines), as I didn’t have any bacon to toss them with and wanted something of a different setup.  So, I lightly poached/boiled them in salted water and shocked them with cold water.  Then tossed them with evoo, s&p, and a chiffonade of fresh mint (which I have had to tame several times in the garden).  Different, interesting, and very fresh!

Speaking of fresh, I also harvested a few early tomatoes and a bit of basil.  I used the basil to make pesto (pureeing it with pine nuts, Parmesan, evoo, s&p, and one clove of garlic).  I added a little half and half to a pan, stirred in the pesto, and tossed in some al dente orzo (rice shaped pasta).  Finished that off with a rough dice of tomatoes and…oh man, I love pesto!

The chicken was very basic.  I had marinated it with evoo, s&p, a bit of fresh tarragon (thanks, Sis!), and a light splash of vinegar (for a quick marinade).  Rubbed it with evoo, s&p, and grilled it.  It was good, but just there for a protein.  The real stars were the garden fresh ingredients!  Now, if I could just have these year round and have someone manage my garden (or my time) for me, I think all may be right in the world!

Mmmm….steeeaaak!

So I’m a little like Homer Simpson when it comes to steak (or nearly any type of meat)…I am from Nebraska, after all!  On the menu yesterday was: Curry marinated flank steak over mint cous-cous.  Loved it!

I’ve been wanting steak for awhile now, but I’ve been trying to keep the food budget low (since the garden is flowing…but meat doesn’t grow in my garden (unfortunately!)); so I decided on flank steak.  It’s a cheaper cut that needs to be handled properly, otherwise it is easily overcooked and gets rather tough.  I also found some cous-cous at the store that is just plain and easy to make.  So this intrigued me and I wanted the steak to have a “Middle Eastern” feel/flavor.  In addition, I had picked a ton of mint from the garden, so I wanted to incorporate that as well (lamb would have been my first choice, but that is not easy to find when I hit the store at 10 or 11 at night).  With all these different things in mind, I decided on curry (something I have never cooked with before, but eaten many times).  I also picked up some ginger and plain yogurt for the marinade.  Yes, yogurt.  It acts as a tenderizing agent (similar to using buttermilk for fried chicken).

That night, I combined a few tablespoons of (ground) curry with about a tablespoon each of (ground) ginger and crushed red pepper, along with a teaspoon or so of cumin.  To that I added about a cup of the plain yogurt and mixed it well in a plastic bag.  I then added the flank steak to the bag, sealed it and placed it in a bowl (to prevent any accidental mess) in the fridge to tenderize and season overnight.

The next day, I wiped away (almost) all of the marinade and seasoned the steak with evoo and s&p while I got the grill nice and hot.  I also started the cous-cous by simply boiling water with a little salt and butter, adding the cous-cous in, removing it from the heat and covering the pan (almost the same prep as minute rice).

While that was finishing, I placed the steak on the grill and came back inside to sautee a little onion and red pepper (bell pepper more because I really needed to use it and thought it would add a little more color to the dish) with a little garlic to add to the rather plain cous-cous.  As all that was working, I flipped the steak and turned down the heat.

I then finely chopped a good handful of mint that I had from the garden.  I added that and the onion/pepper mix to the cous-cous, along with a hearty drizzle of evoo and s&p.  I covered that (off the heat) and let the mint “bloom” while I removed the steak from the grill and let it rest (VERY IMPORTANT!).

Ideally, I would have let the meat rest for a solid ten minutes, but I was running short on time and had to slice into it after about six minutes.  I made thin slices and placed them on top of the cous-cous.  The meat was just barely overcooked, but still medium (I like mine a little more rare).  However, it was tender, juicy, and the subtle curry flavor shined through, pairing wonderfully with the minty cous-cous.  This dish was really fun (to make AND eat) for me as it was something totally new!  I look forward to playing more with different spices!

Garden update

This is just a portion of my garden that is starting to grow LIKE CRAZY!

From the bottom, there is a row of onions, arugula, carrots, cabbage (huge!), rhubarb (top middle), broccoli (top right), with out of control cilantro in between, mint and thyme to the left, and a few beans sprouting up behind.

Believe it or not, this is only HALF of what Ive got.  It’s nuts!

Yummy Summer!

It’s been a while!  Work plus more work equals zero time.  But I found a little time yesterday, as I didn’t have to open.  Since I haven’t been cooking much lately, this was even more delicious (absence makes the palate grow fonder, right?!)!

I had purchased a few pork chops and needed to either use them or freeze them, so I voted on using them.  Hence, grilled pork chops with an apricot-thyme chutney/sauce and light salad with a mint vinaigrette.

My garden is growing out of control, so I picked some leaf lettuce, arugula, mint, and thyme to use.  After a quick rinse and dry, I finely chopped the mint and threw in some evoo, white wine vinegar, and s&p to make a quick, fresh vinaigrette.  And washed/dried the greens for a light salad.  Tossed it with a little feta cheese that I had on-hand and viola!

For a sauce on the pork, I finely diced about a quarter of an onion and sautéed that in a little evoo.  I added one garlic clove and a bunch of thyme (all finely chopped), s&p, and a teaspoon or two of whole grain mustard.  To that, I added about a half cup of apricot preserves and turned the heat way down to let the flavors meld.  As that was working, I started the pork:

I had given the chops a quick brine in evoo, 1T salt, 1T sugar, 1tsp peppercorns, water, and a splash of white wine vinegar, for about an hour.  The acid of the vinegar breaks down the proteins of meats for a fast marinade (any longer than that, it would start cooking the meat).  I rinsed them and patted them dry, seasoned them with evoo, s&p, and threw them on the grill.  I let them cook for about 3-4 mins, gave a quarter turn for another 3-4 mins, then a flip for about 4 mins.

After letting the meat rest, I sliced it thin and topped it with the chutney/sauce (chutney just sounds better, as it wasn’t really a glaze, but a thick sauce).  After plating that and the salad, it made for a delicious lunch!

Sausage, and, Biscuits and Gravy, OOOHH MY!

I almost had a heart attack today.  Not only because I clogged my arteries with creamy sausage gravy, but because it was FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!!   Talk about food-gasm!

I had to stop into work this morning for a catering pick-up; and on my way home (around 10:30a.m.), I was craving brunch food.  I thought about texting a few friends to meet somewhere for brunch, but quickly realized that today is Mother’s Day.  As in: probably one of the busiest “brunch” days for any restaurant.  Not wanting to deal with families and busy-ness, I decided to stop at the store for some sausage to make biscuits and gravy.

After arriving at home and realizing that I had no buttermilk (for biscuits), I almost felt defeated.  But wait!  There’s gotta be a something to substitute, right?  Right!  A tablespoon of vinegar and a cup of milk = a cup of ‘buttermilk’.  Easy ’nuff!  I’ve made biscuits before and they are surprisingly messy, yet simple.  I use a whole wheat recipe for just basic buttermilk biscuits.  Nothing fancy.  So…I got those made (with the ‘buttermilk’) and into the oven.  ’Biscuits’, check!

I started the ‘gravy’ portion with about 1/3 of an onion (diced) into a sautee pan with a tablespoon of butter.  When they started to soften after a few minutes, I added the sausage.  I had purchased Jimmy Dean’s Maple Sausage (1lb in the weird tube-y thing).  When the meat was halfway browned, I added two small cloves of diced garlic, along with a bit of salt, a lot of black pepper, and a little bit of crushed red pepper.  After it was all browned, I dusted the meat mixture with flour and stirred until the mixture was heavy and all the liquid was absorbed (about 2+ tablespoons).   While the flour was cooking for a minute, I heated a cup of milk in the microwave (apparently the extra step to use warm milk makes for an easier gravy/sauce process).  I then added it to the pan and stirred.  The mixture came together beautifully, but in order to make this even more rich (and to have more gravy) I added about half a cup of heavy cream (mmm…creamy!).  After letting everything meld, I added a touch more salt and another heavy dose of black pepper, along with a touch of paprika (I don’t know why, I just did).

I made a few scrambled eggs, plated a biscuit (halved), and topped it with the gooey delicious-ness of sausage and gravy.  Here’s where the heart attack came in…shut-the-ef-up-O-M-G- de….licious!!!  Sweet, spicy, creamy, yummy!  Totally indulgent, not at all healthy (except for the whole-wheat biscuit, I guess).  I don’t care!  Totally making this again!!

My lil’ Garden

Even though I haven’t been cooking a ton lately, I have been in the process of getting a garden going this year.  I am fortunate enough to have plenty of backyard space that has been transitioned into a good sized garden over the past few weeks.  Here are a few pictures of what’s coming up so far…

Onions are coming up!

Radishes too!

I’ve got a little bit of everything, including: tomatoes (a few different kinds), onions, radishes, lettuce, beans, carrots, beets, squash (zucchini and yellow), asparagus, rhubarb, herbs (can’t wait!), and more!  I’m excited to have the freshest produce possible, right from the backyard!  I will post updates periodically on what’s fresh and (in turn) what’s cookin’!

‘Bout Time!

Yes, I have been lacking in writing and I apologize!  I have also been lacking in the cooking department (which I noticed after making mushroom risotto the other day and it was slightly overcooked…out of practice, I guess!).  But I was feeling adventurous the other day and got inspired watching Sunny Anderson make “Maniladas” (her cross between enchiladas and manicotti).  She made an excellent looking salsa verde/roasted tomatillo sauce, so I decided to make….(insert drum-roll here)….enchiladas!

Now, one of the best things I have ever made was pork tacos with braised pork shoulder (Mmm!!), so I played with the same seasonings for chicken this time.  After running to the store to grab tomatillos, a jalapeno, red onion, cilantro, tortillas, mixed greens, and a few other random things, I realized that I had forgotten to pick up sour cream (which would have made these even better, but who needs the extra fat, right?!).  But, I decided to just roll with it and do the best I could.  (I even had a list, but forgot to put it on the list!)  Live and learn, right?!

I immediately started with the tomatillos by peeling and washing them (they have a thin husk with a slight stickiness between that and the actual fruit).  Then quartered them (three of ‘em) and threw them into an 8×8 pan along with about a quarter of sliced red onion, two cloves of smashed/peeled garlic, a jalapeno (quartered and only a few of the seeds removed for a mild heat), a little evoo and s&p.  Then threw the pan in the oven at 450° for about 45mins.

While that was in the oven, I started the chicken.  As with the tacos noted earlier, I used an equal blend of cumin and chili powder along with a touch of freshly grated nutmeg (along with s&p) to season two (LARGE) chicken breasts.  With a little evoo in the sautee pan, I cooked them thoroughly on med-high heat (about five mins on each side…they were huge!).  When they were finished, I removed them and set them aside to cool.  In the same pan, I added a little butter and about half of a diced yellow onion.  As the onion started to become clear, I threw in a rough dice of baby bella mushrooms (12oz. or so) and finished them off with two cloves of diced garlic.  When the mushrooms were finished, I drained them to reserve the shroomy-liquid and added them to a large bowl.  In said bowl, I also shredded the cooked chicken and added a handful of cilantro (roughly chopped) and a roma tomato (seeded and diced).  All that got tossed together and set aside for the filling.  

Now for the sauce:  I did it a little bass-ackwards, but I know better for next time.  I used the reserved shroomy-liquid and a 1/2-3/4 cup of chicken stock and mixed that with some tomato paste, more cumin and a bit of roux (I should have melted the butter, and mixed in the flour for the roux before adding the liquid, but oh well).  I had a bit of heavy cream sitting out at room-temp while I was preparing everything else, so I added that as well and brought it to a light boil.  (I think I will puree a bit of mushrooms and add even more cumin to this next time for a richer taste).

Pretty easy sauce, but I have ideas on how to make it way better (adding mushroom puree, more seasoning, cheese, more tomatoes…lots of ideas!).  It was a little thin, but I was thin on time, so it got the job done.  By this time, the tomatillos were done roasting, so I pulled them out of the oven before constructing the enchiladas.

For the construction, I simply placed a thin layer of the (thin) sauce in the bottom of a 9×11 pan.  I stuffed and wrapped the filling into some flour torillas with a little bit of cheese (quesadilla cheese…Monterey Jack, fontina, or Chihuahua cheese would be more suited) and fit about six into the pan.  I then poured the (thin) sauce on top, along with more cheese, and put them into the (still at) 450° oven.

Basically, everything was already cooked, so I just wanted the sauce to soak into the tortillas and the cheese to get melty.  So while they were in the oven, I tossed the roasted tomatillos into the food processor and gave it a spin.  That sauce/salsa verde was excellent!  Thanks Sunny!  Sweet with a light background of heat.  It was definitely the star and brought the enchiladas a lot more flavor!  The enchiladas themselves were delicious, but I think I can make them amazing!  I’ll just have to try again!…Soon!

Oh, the accompaniment of a salad was dressed with a honey-lime vinaigrette…mmm!!

Springtime!!!

It has been way too long!  Unfortunately, I have had a lot of changes (read craziness) at work lately.  This has left me with very little time to cook, let alone write about it, for the past month or so.  But I’m back!!  Things have settled enough where I can feel inspired to not only cook, but to write about it as well.

I haven’t been starved or anything lately, just too busy to be adventurous.  My sister and I did host a family get-together a few weeks ago and had some excellent burgers, BBQ pulled pork, Asian-style slaw, pasta salad, potato salad, homemade cookies AND cheesecake (thanks Sis!), along with a few other BBQ/picnic-ish/potluck type side dishes.  It was a great time that came and went too quickly, but fun nonetheless.

Having leftovers from said BBQ lasted about a week, so another reason I didn’t need to cook anything.  With those leftovers finally gone, I still had some random bits in the fridge, including a quarter head of red cabbage.  Hmmm… I’ve had cooked/braised cabbage before… why not!  Along with it, mushrooms, a delicious white bean puree, and BBQ pork chops (with a bit of homemade BBQ sauce that was also leftover).

I sliced the remainder of the cabbage (which I guess was more like 1/3 of a head) while I heated a little butter (about 1.5 tablespoons) in a large pan.  Then threw the cabbage in and let it begin to cook down.  

After about 8-10 minutes on med-high, I added a thinly sliced shallot and a package of roughly chopped mushrooms, along with some s&p.  About 8-10 minutes later (when the water was being released from the veggies) I added about a 1/4-1/3 cup of white wine (I almost always have Chardonnay on hand, but a Riesling may have been even better) and turned the heat up to just below high.  Giving everything a toss here and there, I added a few sprigs of fresh thyme a little later and let the liquid reduce until it was almost gone.  To thicken the little bit of liquid, I added another tablespoon of butter and reduced the heat.

I had picked up some pork loin chops and had them in a quick marinade (evoo, garlic, thyme, pepper, and a splash of white wine vinegar) for about an hour.  While the cabbage was cooking, I seasoned the chops and threw them on the grill; giving them a quarter turn after about 3-4 minutes, and a flip a few minutes later.  After the flip I basted them with some BBQ sauce, and about four minutes later gave them another flip and basting on the other side.  The sauce that I used was from Tyler Florence’s ultimate BBQ’d ribs.  I had subbed apricot preserves for the peach, as I am not a fan of anything with peach flavor.  It’s a smoky, sweet sauce that is delicious.

In the midst of tossing the cabbage/mushrooms and keeping tabs on the pork, I heated a little evoo in a small saucepan and added about 1/2tsp of crushed red pepper and (a minute later) a clove of finely chopped garlic.  I let those flavors bloom for a second before adding a can of cannellini (white kidney) beans (drained and rinsed) and let them heat on med-low.  When the beans were warm, I pureed them with a splash of chicken stock and a little splash of white wine vinegar.  I’ve made this before and it is awesome!  Its silky texture is delicate, with a light spice and a little kick of acidity from the vinegar.  Super easy, quick, and wonderful!

After plating everything, I noticed that it needed a touch of green, so I tore up a bit of fresh parsley and added it to the bean puree and the cabbage.  I’m glad I did.  The cabbage needed a tiny bit of something to brighten it up.  It was delish though!  I also garnished the bean puree with a tiny bit of Parmesan which boosted the complex flavors just enough.

I had debated on how to cook the pork and BBQ thing was more of a “I should probably use the sauce while it’s still good”, rather than “What flavors will go best”.  I think a light, fruity apricot/thyme glaze would have been even better, but this worked out just fine!  The cabbage and mushrooms were excellent, and I love that white bean puree!  I need more excuses to make that!