By mlb, on January 31st, 2010%
Here is a recipe that certainly will work outdoors on a grill but also worked quite well in the oven. I found these little 6 X 6 inch or so cedar grilling planks at Sur la Table for $10 and impulse-bought them. Then I on-purpose bought some salmon.
I soaked my plank for about an hour and a half. If it was going on a charcoal grill the fish *, I would have soaked it for at least two hours. I let the plank heat up in the oven for about 5 minutes, before placing the salmon on it. I don’t actually know how much flavor the cedar imparted on the salmon, but wow, did it smell good while in the oven. These planks were officially, single serving . . . → Read More: Cedar-Plank Salmon
By mlb, on August 19th, 2009%
This is a meal inspired by a dinner that jwa had at his parents house a little while ago. He had gone down there to help them with some things and returned with tales of steak with garlic in it. Mmmmm…garlic in steak. I was intrigued. Such a great idea!
So, we grilled some up, with the addition of chimichurri sauce and some grilled veggies.
This was also a great opportunity to use out new outdoor grill — I still love it!
For the Argentinian Chimichurri Sauce:
Adapted from a recipe from Bob Blumer, The Surreal Gourmet
1/2 cup lightly packed chopped flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves
3 to 5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp chili pepper flakes
2 tbsp shallot or onion, minced
3/4 cup olive oil
3 . . . → Read More: Grilled Garlic Steak with Argentinian Chimichurri Sauce
By mlb, on June 5th, 2009%
This was a side dish that worked really well with some grilled albacore tuna steaks. For the fish, I made a quick topping of kalamata olives, green olives, cherry tomatoes, red onion, olive oil, lemon juice and feta cheese. So, it was a Mediterranean kind of a thing (one of my favorite kinds of things).
The zucchini grilled while the fish rested. I think the scores in the zucchini are to let the buttery goodness soak in. This recipe is easily halved or even quartered. I did the later with 2 tbsp butter, 1/2 tbsp lemon, 1/4 tsp each of the spices and a pinch of curry. Oh and yes — there was cheese!
Grilled Zucchini with Garlic and Lemon Butter Baste
recipe adapted from Bon Appétit magazine
8 medium zucchini (about . . . → Read More: Summer Side Dish: Grilled Zucchini with Garlic and Lemon Butter Baste
By mlb, on May 25th, 2009%
Memorial Day Weekend. Portland. Sunny. 70+ degrees. No rain. Really, no rain. What to do? Make lamb burgers!
Wow, these were good. Juicy and flavorful. The recipe is very easy to halve and make just two burgers (what I did). I found some kalamata ciabatta rolls at New Seasons which worked perfectly with these burgers.
Middle Eastern Lamb Burgers
Adapted from a recipe in Everyday with Rachael Ray
1 1/2 pounds ground lamb
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (you could sub flat-leaf parsley)
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp turmeric
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup low fat, plain yogurt, mixed with 1 clove crushed garlic and 1/2 a grated English cucumber
4 crusty kalamata olive rolls, split
spinach leaves
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 tomato, sliced
In a large bowl, combine . . . → Read More: Middle Eastern Lamb Burgers