by EatDrinkBeCindy on July 16, 2010
Grilled Greek Salad
Finally June-uary is over on the West Coast and summer has arrived. This salad is like summer on a plate. I was buying ingredients for a Greek Salad and thought, “wouldn’t this be delicious if it was grilled?”. The answer, yes and it’s very easy to make.
For the dressing;
Combine the following ingredients in a jar and shake to combine;
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 tsp of salt and ground pepper to taste
1 tbsp of chopped, fresh oregano
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
For the salad:
12 – 15 cherry tomatoes
1 red onion, sliced in 1/4″ thick slices
2 red peppers, cut in 1/2, seeds and core removed
1 English cucumber, chopped
1/2 cup, feta cheese
Skewer the cherry tomatoes and red onion slices. Brush the tomatoes, onion and red pepper with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Heat the grill on high, clean with a steel brush and brush with oil (canola is fine).
Turn the heat down to medium- high and place the tomatoes, red peppers and onions on the grill. Keep an eye on the tomatoes they will be finished before the onions and peppers. Grill until lightly charred.
When the vegetables are finished, roughly chop the onions and peppers. Combine with the tomatoes and cucumbers in a medium bowl, cover with the dressing and crumble the feta on top.
I’m the only “olive lover” in my family so this salad was sadly olive-free BUT, oh my, it would be delicious with kalamata olives. There we go, summer on a plate. We had this with chicken souvlaki, pita bread and tsatsiki. Enjoy!
by EatDrinkBeAlix on June 24, 2010
This pesto is my new favourite. It has a really nutty fresh flavour and is great on pasta or on grilled salmon. Thanks to the Green Man for getting my creative juices flowing!
Arugula & Pistachio Pesto with Shrimp
Ingredients
4 cups arugula
1 cup pistachios
Juice of 1 lemon/rind
1 garlic clove
1 hot pepper (dried)
Olive oil
Parmesan cheese – 1/4 cup
200g fresh cooked shrimp
Method
- add arugula to blender with pistachios
- blend and pour in olive oil until it begins to emulsify
- add lemon juice and lemon rind
- add garlic clove, hot pepper
- add more olive oil as needed
- add fresh Parmesan
Serve over pasta – fettucine – that has been cooked in well salted water until al dente. Toss fresh cooked shrimp on top for a little something extra!
Freeze left over pesto and use on salmon to grill.
by EatDrinkBeAlix on June 18, 2010
On Sunday we had a glimpse of summer, and that was just what I needed for a little “grilled” dinner inspiration. The menu was simple: chicken marinated in buttermilk, lemon and oregano, grilled veggies and flat bread, all done on the grill. Everything tasted like the promise of summer, fresh, sweet and delicious. It was simple to prepare, the chicken was the only part that needed 24 hours notice, everything else was pulled together just before it went on the grill.
- Roasted Veggies, Buttermilk-Garlic Chicken Kebabs & Grilled Homemade Flatbread
Buttermilk-Garlic Chicken Kebabs – from Canadian House & Home July 2010
Serves 8
Ingredients
16 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, about 5lb
2 cups buttermilk
1 onion, coarsely chopped
5 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp dried oregano (or 1/4 cup chopped fresh)
Chopped fresh mint (handful)
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
Black pepper
Kosher salt
Method
- Cut each chicken thigh into 1″ to 2″ chunks, trim and discard any fat.
- Combine buttermilk, onion, garlic, oregano, lemon juice/zest, pepper and mint in a large ziplock bag.
- Add chicken and marinate in the fridge up to 24 hours.
- Soak 16 bamboo skewers in cold water for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat BBQ to high.
- Thread 6 to 8 chicken pieces onto each skewer, squeezing close together.
- Sprinkle generously with salt.
- Grease the hot grill with oil, place skewers on it and reduce heat to medium-low.
- Close lid and cook 15 to 20 minutes, turning once or twice, or until cooked through.
Homemade Flatbreads – from Canadian House & Home July 2010
Serves 8
- Homemade Flatbread dough
This was FUN! I’ve never cooked bread on the BBQ before so I was definitely a bit afraid. However I had two secret weapons – the dough was amazing to work with AND Cindy was over and did the heavy lifting! It was also really rewarding as it looks like you’ve pulled off this amazing feat but it’s actually really simple. And it was delicious.
The key to great crispy flatbreads is to make sure the grill is fully preheated.
Ingredients
2 8g packages active dry yeast
2-1/2 cups warm water (105° to 115º F)
2-1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided, plus more as needed
2 tsp table salt
3 tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- Homemade Grilled Flatbread
Method
- Combine the yeast with 2tbsp all-purpose flour and 1 cup water and let stand for 10 minutes or until foamy.
- Meanwhile, in a bowl with a stand-mixer (I don’t have a stand-mixer so I did this with an electric egg beater and then by hand), blend whole-wheat flour with 1 cup all-purpose flour and salt.
- Add yeast mixture and remaining 1 cup water and mix until smooth.
- If using a stand-mixer switch to the dough hook (or in my case clean hands!) and mix in remaining all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup at a time, mixing for at least 30 seconds between additions.
- Add enough flour that dough just comes away from the sides of the bowl – it should be fairly sticky.
- Mix in 3 tbsp of olive oil.
- Transfer dough to a large oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place (like oven with light on) until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Preheat the BBQ to medium-high.
- Turn dough onto a floured work surface and cut into 8 equal portions.
- Roll out each one and place on parchment lined baking sheets to transfer to BBQ.
- Grill each flatbread directly on the grill until toasted and puffy, about 3 minutes per side.
- Brush each side with olive oil and rock salt (while on the grill)
- Serve warm.
Grilled Veggies
Serves 8
- Grilled Asparagus, Cherry Tomatoes, Red Peppers, Fennel & Red Onion
This is so easy and definitely a go-to for me in the summer. The key here is to select what’s fresh and what you like. This is what I used for this dinner:
Ingredients
1 dozen cherry tomatoes
12 asparagus spears
1 red onion
1 fennel bulb
2 red peppers
3 garlic cloves, crushed
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper
Method
- Snap off ends of asparagus
- Cut red peppers into quarters
- Cut fennel bulb into quarters length-wise and then quarter again (also length-wise)
- Leave cherry tomatoes whole
- Combine oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper (a couple of grinds of each) with veggies
- Ensure all veggies are well coated
- Marinate while you prepare the bread – 1/2 hour to 1 hour
- Transfer to tinfoil pan and cook on medium heat on the BBQ
- Toss veggies around so they are cooked evenly about 25 minutes
So with more good weather on the way, crank up your BBQ and get grilling!
by EatDrinkBeCindy on June 8, 2010
Bacon Lover's Tart
Summer is almost here and my girls are pretty much bouncing of the walls. At this point it seems there’s more socializing than learning happening at school and I’m ok with that BUT, for Moms this is a tough time of year. Every Mom I know is just about ready to tear her hair out. We’re all scrambling to make food for Year-End Picnics, Recognition Ceremonies, Family Dances, Teacher Appreciation Lunches, Volunteer Teas, Teacher Gifts – you get the picture and it’s not pretty!
Each June I struggle with what to make for these various get-togethers. My criteria – it’s going to be shared so it can’t be too “out there”, it must travel well and, most importantly, it has to taste great at room temperature. No easy feat.
My dish of choice this year is the Bacon Lover’s Tart. Men like it because, well, because it has bacon. Women on the other hand swoon for it because it’s a tart (and did I mention it has bacon)!
The recipe is officially called “Onion, Potato, and Bacon tart” from Mark Peel’s wonderful cookbook “New Classic Family Dinners” based on the Monday Night Family Dinners that he hosts at Campanile, his James Beard Award-winning LA restaurant. Here it is. I made Campanile’s Savory Flaky Pastry too (pat, pat!) but you could get away with a purchased shell or commercial puff pastry.
Ingredients
1 large (10-ounce) russet potato, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch dice
Kosher salt
2 strips thick-cut bacon
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 pounds onions, cut in half lengthwise then thinly sliced across the grain
A bouquet garni made with 1 small sprig of rosemary, 1 bay leaf and 2 juniper berries lightly crushed (placed in cheesecloth and tied with kitchen string)
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 10″ Savory Flaky pastry shell or 1 sheet commercial puff pastry pre-baked (weight the centre of the puff pastry with dry beans while baking it to make sure it doesn’t puff up in the centre).
Method
- Bring a medium saucepan full of salted water to a boil and add the diced potato. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Heat a large, heavy frying pan over medium-high heat and cook the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and when cool enough to handle, crumble it and set aside. Pour off the grease from the pan.
- Add the butter to the pan in which you cooked the bacon and heat over medium-low heat. Add the onions, the bouquet-garni, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and cook gently, stirring often, until carmelized and meltingly tender, about 40 minutes!
- Stir in the potatoes and cream and continue to cook, stirring often, until the cream has been just about all absorbed, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the bacon and add salt and pepper to taste. Remove the bouquet-garni and stir in the parsley.
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the onion filling over the pre-baked pastry and place in the oven. Bake 30 minutes, until the top is beginning to brown.
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
- Serve hot, warm, or best of all, at room temperature.
So let the get-togethers begin. With this tart in your repertoire you’re ready for anything the Parent Teacher Association might throw at you!
by EatDrinkBeAlix on June 2, 2010
My goodness it has been so long since I posted an entry I almost forgot how! Apologies loyal readers (ha! as if we have any left after this long absence), life has been busy and blogging and “photog-ing” has been delegated to the back burner. However this morning I was inspired when I read Randy Shore’s Green Man blog in the Vancouver Sun on the pleasures of pesto. It gave me a jolt that Spring is here and Summer on the way – though you’d hardly know it if you stepped outside. I had fully intended to cook a pesto pasta dish (using arugula and pistachios) but I got distracted by the beautiful rainbow Swiss chard I spied in the produce aisle. I ended up concocting my own Spring-time pasta dish. I hope you enjoy. We sure did.
Ingredients
good slug of olive oil
3 garlic cloves crushed
1 bunch of rainbow Swiss chard – leafs removed (save for green salad), finely chopped
12 cherry tomatoes, quartered
handful fresh basil, torn
grated Parmesan cheese, to taste
salt & pepper to taste
spinach linguine cooked in salted water
Method
- Add the olive oil to a heated frying pan, let it heat up and then toss in the garlic.
- Once the garlic is sizzling, add the chopped up Swiss chard and cherry tomatoes.
- Cook until the vegetables are soft, meanwhile cook the pasta in a large pot of bowling, salted water until al dente.
- Drain the pasta and toss with the chard and tomatoes.
- Add some torn up basil leaves and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
- Season with salt & pepper to taste.
Easy, peasy as a better cook than I would say. And a little taste of Spring even when it feels like Winter. Oh, it’s good to be back. Stay tuned for the arugula and pistachio pasta recipe.
