Grilled Chicken, Best Marinade

This is a go-to recipe for grilled chicken – whole B/S breasts or kebabs.

Ingredients:

• ⅓ cup (80 ml) olive oil
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) water
• 2 tablespoons (15 ml) lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) honey
• 1/4 teaspoon (15 g) kosher salt (or go salt-free)
• 1 tablespoon (9 g) minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon (1 g) chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2 pounds (908 g) boneless skinless chicken breast about 4 pieces
• 1 lemon cut into wedges

Directions:

• In a medium bowl, vigorously whisk together olive oil, water, lemon juice, mustard, soy sauce, honey, salt, garlic, parsley, black pepper, and lemon zest.
• Add the chicken to a baking dish or large resealable plastic bag. Pour marinade over, cover, and refrigerate. Marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes and up to 60 minutes—flip over every 15 minutes.
• Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture from the surface. Discard marinade.
• Preheat the grill to medium-high heat, about 400 to 450ºF (204 to 232ºC). Clean and grease the grates with oil. Keep one burner off for indirect cooking. Place the chicken on the direct heat side and close the lid. Cook each side until char marks form, about 3-4 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness. Then move the chicken to indirect heat and cook until the chicken registers between 160-165 deg F.
• Transfer to a cutting board or clean serving platter. Tent with foil for 10 minutes before slicing or serving. Serve with lemon wedges.

Serves: 4

Porchetta Sandwich

This recipe, although modified, was found in the Cuisine at Home magazine. I love the fennel with the pork.

Ingredients:

5 tbsp olive oil, divided

3 tbsp chopped garlic (or 1-2 more if you really like garlic)

1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

1 tbsp chopped oregano

1 tsp salt

1 tsp fennel seed

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

3-4 pound bone-in pork shoulder

1/2 cup chicken broth, low sodium

1/2 cup dry white wine, like a Sauvignon Blanc

1 onion, sliced

1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced

1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, sliced

1 loaf ciabatta, sliced horizontally and toasted and cup into 4 pieces (like 4 rolls)

8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced (you can probably use shredded mozz, but I don’t know how much you will need; likely 8 oz)

Directions:

1. Puree 4 tbsp olive, garlic, rosemary, oregano, salt, fennel seed, and pepper flakes in a food processor.
2. Rub mixture over the meat. Sear the meat on all sides in a saute pan over medium heat.
3. Place seared pork into a slow cooker, cover and cook on the high setting for 4 hours or the low setting for 8 hours. When done, shred the meat in the cooker and turn off the heat.
4. Saute the onion, bell pepper and tomatoes in the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil over medium high heat in a saute pan for 3-5 minutes.
5. To serve, top each ciabatti portion with the porchetta pork and top with mozzarella and the onion-pepper-tomato mixture.
6. Enjoy. There will be leftover meat. You are the lucky one!

Serves: 4 sandwiches (note: if you want 8 sandwiches, add another loaf of ciabatta and double the onion-pepper-tomato mixture and mozzarella)

Mike’s Favorite Frosted Brownies

Mike loves brownies and he found this recipe at Inspired Taste. I’ve modified the the bake time and eliminated the nuts (unless you really need them). The frosting is an old family favorite.

Ingredients:

10 tablespoons (145 grams) unsalted butter

1 ¼ cups (250 grams) granulated sugar

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (80 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch processed)

1/4 rounded teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large cold eggs

1/2 cup (65 grams) all-purpose flour

Note: If you like nuts, add 2/3 cup (75 grams) chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions:

Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 325 degrees F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch x 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on opposite sides to help remove the baked brownies from the pan.

Prepare a double-boiler by filling a medium saucepan with water about 2 inches deep. Heat the water until barely simmering. 

Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium heat-safe bowl. Rest the bowl over the simmering water. If the bottom of the bowl touches the water, remove a little water from the saucepan.

Stir the mixture occasionally until the butter has melted and the mixture is quite warm. Don’t worry if it looks gritty; it will become smooth once you add the eggs and flour.

Remove the bowl from the saucepan, and set aside for 5 minutes or until it is only warm, not hot.

Stir in the vanilla. Add one egg at a time until it is incorporated.

Add the flour and beat with a spoon until fully incorporated.

Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the batter.

Bake for 15-25 minutes. Test the brownies at 15 minutes by inserting a toothpick in the center. The brownies are done when only a few crumbs are attached to toothpick.

Cool slightly and top with the Chocolate Chip Frosting recipe which is found at this site.

French 75

For each drink:

1 oz Cognac (2 T)

2 tsp lemon juice (fresh)

1 tsp simple syrup (1:1 water to sugar dissolved and chilled)

Champagne or sparkling wine

Put the Cognac, lemon juice and simple syrup into a cocktail shaker, add ice and shake 20 seconds. Strain/pour into a champagne flute. Top with champagne or sparkling wine (perfectly good).

A bottle of the wine will make 5-6 drinks.

YUM!!!

Prosciutto Wrapped Scallops

2 T olive oil

1 T fresh lemon juice

salt and pepper

16 scallops, cleaned

1 pkg proscuitto, cut into strips (the long way to fit the size of the side of the scallop

16-20 basil leaves

lemon wedges, for serving

Clean grill and heat it to medium high heat.

Combine olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Add the scallops to the oil mixture and hold while you get the prosciutto and basil strips ready.

Lay a prosciutto strip done on waxed paper or a cutting board for raw fish. Lay one basil leaf (or 2 if small) on the left end of the prosciutto stip. Then lay a scallop on its side down on the end. Then roll the prosciutto-basil around the scallop. Repeat with the rest of the scallops.

Skewer 4 scallops with one or two skewers. Brush both sides of the scallops with olive oil and place on the grill. Grill for 2-3 minutes per side.

Serve with lemon wedges.

Serves: 4

Rose Sangria

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup Triple Sec

1 orange, cut in half from top to bottom and then sliced into 1/4″ slices

2 nectarines, cut into thin wedges

10-15 pitted, fresh cherries

2 bottles of rose wine, chilled

Combine the sugar and the triple sec in a bowl. Add the fruit to the mixture and let macerate for 30 minutes. Put the fruit mixture into a pitcher and add the wine. Chill until ready to serve. You can add ice to the glasses, too.

Vegetable Fritters

This recipe is similar to the Cook’s Country version of vegetable fritters. These are so good!

Sauce Ingredients

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 tbsp prepared horseradish, drained

1 tbsp lemon juice

Salt (optional) and pepper, to taste

Sauce Directions

Mix together all ingredients; set aside.

Fritter Ingredients

1/2 cup + 1 tbps all-purpose flour

1/2 cup + 1 tbps cornstarch

1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup seltzer

1 cup thinkly sliced red bell pepper

1 cup shredded zuccini

1/2 cup shredded carrot

1/2 cup thinkly sliced onion

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves (or parsley)

2 scallions, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 garlic clove, minced

1.5 cups vegetable oil for frying

Fritter directions:

1. Whisk flour, cornstarch, and baking powder together in large bowl. Add seltzer and whisk until smooth forming a thick batter.
2. Add bell pepper, zucchini, carrot, onion, cilantro, scallions, and garlic to the batter until coated with the batter. Just before frying the fritter, add the salt (optional) and pepper to the batter
3. In a 12-inch pan, heat 1/4-inch depth of oil over medium-high heat, approximately 350 deg F.
4. Add batter in 1/4 portions to the oil and press the mound down slightly. Fry for 2-4 minutes on each side.
5. Removed cooked fritters to a paper-towel lined tray to drain. Then, move fritters to a rack to hold until all of the fritters are made. (Putting these into a 200 deg F oven will keep them crispy until all are fried.

Serves: 4-6

Note: can easily be cut in half.

Pear Salad

This is a wonderful salad. The dressing is perfect.

Ingredients

Balsamic Vinaigrette

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 Tbsp finely diced shallot
• Salt (optional) and freshly ground black pepper

Salad

• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 Tbsp salted butter
• 1 Tbsp packed light-brown sugar
• 5-7 oz 50:50 mixed greens & spinach or all of one of them
• 2 oz parmesan cheese, shaved (goat cheese works well)
• 2 Pears, sliced thin (Bartlett, red, anjou )
• 1/3 cup dried sweetened cranberries

Instructions

• To a blender add olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, dijon mustard, diced shallot and season with salt and pepper to taste (I used a 1/4 +1/8 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper). 
• Blend mixture until well emulsified, about 20 seconds. Store in refrigerator in an airtight container until ready to serve.
• In a medium skillet melt butter along with brown sugar over medium heat. Once mixture has melted add walnuts and cook, stirring constantly until caramelized, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate in a single layer to cool.
• Layer lettuce and pears in a large bowl and toss with dressing, then top with parmesan, dried cranberries and candied walnuts and serve (alternately just layer all the salad ingredients then drizzle with dressing. Note: top this salad with dressing just before serving as it will wilt the lettuces after a while).

Serves: 4-6

Apple Spinach Salad

This is a combination of two recipes. You’ll love the crunchy pecans. This would be good with pears, as well.

Ingredients:

Crunchy pecans:

• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
• 1 Tbsp salted butter
• 1 Tbsp packed light-brown sugar

Apple Cider Dressing Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 small garlic clove, peeled and minced
• a generous pinch of salt and black pepper

Apple Salad Ingredients:

• 5 ounces fresh baby spinach or 50:50 blend of mixed greens and spinach
• 2 small apples, cored and thinly sliced (protect browning of the apples by dipping in
• half of a small red onion, thinly sliced (sort cut onion in slightly sugared cold water for 15 minutes and then drain on paper towels; this reduces the bitterness)
• crunchy pecans
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 3 ounces shards of parmesan cheese or crumbled goat cheese

Instructions:

1. Topping: In a medium skillet melt butter along with brown sugar over medium heat. Once mixture has melted add walnuts and cook, stirring constantly until caramelized, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate in a single layer to cool.
2. Dressing: Combine all of the vinaigrette ingredients together in a bowl and whisk vigorously (or shake them together in a mason jar) to combine.
3. Salad assembly: Add spinach, apples, red onion, pecans, dried cranberries, and half of the cheese to a large bowl.  Drizzle with the dressing, and toss to combine. Top salad with remaining cheese.

Serves: 4-6

American Goulash

Adapted from a Chef John’s recipe. Dropped the salt, made the marinara, and other tweets have made it a great low sodium recipe. This is pure comfort food.

Ingredients

Ingredient Checklist

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt (omit for low sodium)
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (add another 2 tsp Italian seasoning if low sodium)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 quart chicken broth
• 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 4 ups homemade marinara sauce
• 2 cups elbow macaroni
• 1 cup water, if goulash gets too thick
• ¼ cup chopped Italian parsley
• 1 cup shredded white Cheddar cheese (Optional)

Directions

Instructions Checklist

• Heat oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and ground beef. Cook, breaking the meat into small pieces, until browned, about 5 minutes. Cook and stir until liquid is evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes more. Add garlic, salt, black pepper, cayenne, paprika, Italian seasoning, and bay leaves.
• Cook and stir until flavors come together, about 3 minutes. Pour in chicken broth, and marinara sauce. Bring the soup to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium and simmer to let flavors intensify, about 30 minutes.
• Increase heat to medium-high and bring soup to a simmer. Add macaroni; simmer, stirring occasionally, until just barely tender, about 12 minutes. We actually like it softer than this, so add 2 minutes. Add any extra water now if it gets too thick.
• Remove goulash from heat. Discard bay leaves; stir in parsley and Cheddar cheese (omit is making low sodium). Cover and let rest for 5 minutes. Taste and season as desired.