Tag: summer grilling
Mexican Style Turkey Burgers
- 1 poblano pepper, cut in half, seeded
- 1 small yellow onion, cut into quarters
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves, (wrapped in aluminum foil)
- Drizzle of olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place the vegetables on a lined cookie sheet. Drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle the salt and pepper and roast for 35 to 40 minutes or till the vegetables are soft. Take out of oven and scrape off the skin from the poblano peppers as well as the garlic from the foil. Place in a blender or processor and process till smooth.
- 1 pound dark turkey meat
- 2 teaspoons salt
- Pepper
Place the turkey meat in a medium mixing bowl. Add the poblano mixture, salt and pepper and mix well till everything is incorporated. Form into four patties. Let it sit for 2 to 3 hours. Cook on a grill or skillet. Serve on a sesame seed bun with tomatoes, smoked paprika mayonnaise and guacamole.
Smoked Paprika Mayonnaise
- ¼ cup non-fat Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Juice of half lemon
Add the yogurt, mayonnaise, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt and lemon juice in a small bowl. Mix well and keep aside.
Italian Style Cheeseburgers
Another delicious one…
- 1 pound ground grass fed beef
- 1 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Transfer the meat into a medium bow. Add the basil, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix well and keep aside in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours. Form four patties and keep aside.
Mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- ¼ cup non-fat Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup kalamata olives
- 3 to 4 sundried tomatoes
- 3 garlic cloves
- Salt
- Pepper
Process the olives, sundried tomatoes and garlic in a small processor. Mix into the mayonnaise and yogurt in a small bowl. Add salt and pepper and taste for seasonings. Keep aside.
- 2 medium tomatoes, sliced
- 4 burger buns, sliced
- 4 mozzarella slices
Cook the burgers according to desired doneness. Add the cheese on top. Spread the mayo onto the buns and add tomatoes. Serve the burgers with grilled potatoes and veggies.
Grilled Chicken with Plum Sauce
I am very proud of this recipe. Some friends were coming over for a barbecue and I wanted to grill chicken.. maybe with some barbecue sauce… but I had recently read an article about how much sugar there is in bottled barbecue sauces. I wanted to make my own but make it a bit different.. so, I decided to use the plums in the sauce. That would be the main flavor mixed in with some onion, garlic, orange juice and of course some smoked paprika. I added a bit of honey to balance the flavors and came up with a delicious sauce. I marinated the chicken in some spices and basted it with half of the sauce. I served the rest of the sauce with the cooked chicken. It tasted amazing… definitely try this sauce next time you are in the mood to grill…
- 4 to 5 black plums, cut into 1 inch wedges
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- Salt
Heat a small saucepan with the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes on medium heat. Add the plums, orange juice, honey and smoked paprika. Bring to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Take off the heat and add to a blender till smooth. Transfer to a bowl and check for seasonings. Divide in half and use one half to baste steak and chicken and serve the other half with the cooked meat.
Grilled Steak with Cilantro Chimichurri Sauce
My favorite steak to grill or cook is the rib eye. It has amazing flavor and just the right amount of fat. This recipe epitomizes summer for me. I love making chimichurri sauce and for this recipe, I used cilantro instead of just parsley. It makes a delicious sauce for steak as well as vegetables- stay tuned…
- 2 cups cilantro, chopped
- 1 cup parsley
- 4 garlic cloves
- Juice of one lemon
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 to 3 teaspoons salt
Add the cilantro, parsley and garlic to a small processor. Process till chopped well. Add the olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Process till smooth sauce is formed. Check for seasonings and transfer to a bowl. Take out a quarter cup aside for the vegetables.
- 3 to 4 grass fed rib eye steaks
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Marinate the steaks with the oil, salt and pepper for 2 to 3 hours. Grill the steaks according to taste. Serve with chimichurri sauce.
Mango and Nectarine Salsa
I love making salsas in the summer. In fact any time any one is coming over, I find myself making salsa to serve with tortilla chips. I know it is very easy to buy really great salsas in the store, but … nothing like homemade salsa. First of all it tastes a lot fresher (obviously) and a lot tastier. The jarred variety always has a particular ‘old’ flavor about the salsa that I don’t care for. Don’t get me wrong… I do have the store bought variety in my fridge that I use in a bind but I prefer to make my own.
So, when some friends were coming over for a barbecue, I decide to raid my fridge and make a mango and nectarine salsa. I chopped everything fine including the onion and the cilantro. To make things interesting, I decided to roast the jalapenos. It gave the sauce a milder, nuttier flavor.
It was a big hit with the tortilla chips but it would be fabulous with any meat or fish.. or even tacos.. Try this one next time you are in the mood for something delicious and fresh..
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Mexican Style Rice and Fish
I love making one pot meals- they are easy to make, easy to clean and usually very tasty. The dish needs to be cooked properly in order to taste really really good. This one is a winner. Since I made the tomatillo sauce from La Esquina, I wanted to make a delicious one pot meal out of it. I realized I had done all the work already.. all the flavor was in the sauce including garlic, onions and cilantro. I just needed to figure out how I was going to use it.
I decided on a rice dish. I bought some cod and sauteed the filets in a heavy saucepan. I then sauteed the green sauce in the same pot to retain the fish flavor. I added the rice and the broth. I topped it all with the fish and peas… that was it! Before I knew it, I had a delicious one pot meal. I served it with a big green salad and some Malbec rose!
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Grilled Baby Zucchini
As I mentioned yesterday, Sundays are our official grilling day… it is a must. As I marinated and assembled the delicious basil and garlic burgers, I started to think of the accompaniments. I wanted to keep the whole fare relatively healthy. I initially decided to eliminate potatoes out of the meal but then… after thinking about it, I decided to make some. I need to have some potatoes with my burgers. For a veggie, I decided to take out the baby zucchinis I had bought from Trader Joes. They were bright green and tender and best of all, they were tiny… I simply tossed them in some olive oil, garlic and balsamic vinegar. They sat around for a couple of hours until they looked really happy and ready to be grilled. It took less than five minutes to cook them.. since they were so tender, they only needed to be browned on both sides on a hot grill. They were delicious and beautiful with the burgers…
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