Indonesian Ginger Chicken/Tofu

I kept putting off trying this recipe because it asks for 1 cup of honey (expensive!) and 1/2 cup of peeled and grated ginger (time intensive!), but really, it's worth it, especially if you half the recipe. The recipe has the chicken baked, which I did, but I think it'll be equally tasty grilled (I'd reserve the marinade and boil it for 5-10 minutes and serve over the chicken). I also can't wait to try this with tofu!

Indonesian Ginger Chicken
Barefoot Contessa

1 cup honey
3/4 c soy sauce
1/4 cup minced garlic (8-12 cloves)
1/2 cup peeled and grated fresh ginger root
2 chickens (3 1/2 pounds each), quartered with backs removed

Cook the honey, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger root in a small saucepan over low heat until honey is melted. Arrange the chicken in a large, shallow baking pan, skin side down, and pour on the sauce. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the baking pan in the oven and bake for 1/2 hour. Uncover the pan, turn the chicken skin side up, and raise the temperature to 375 degrees (oops, I forgot to do this, but it turned out fine). Continue baking for 30 minutes, or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh and the sauce is a rich dark brown.

Try this with Curried Couscous.

Grilled Portabello Mushroom Caps

I've been doing research for about a year now to figure out how to grill portabellos. I had some AMAZING ones at a barbeque a few years ago, but the event was catered, and I was too shy to ask the caterer how they made them. The feat of making amazing portabellos is doublely impressive in light of the fact that there has only been one food item that I have consistently detested and gagged on my entire life...mushrooms. After eating those, I thought that I had clearly misjudged this fungi and needed to learn more. So, after consulting allrecipes.com, foodnetwork.com, epicurious.com and several of my home cookbooks, I think I have the technique down.

Teriyaki Grilled Portabellos

4 Portabello mushrooms
1/2 cup Teriyaki sauce (I like Trader Joe's)

1. Remove the mushroom stems. They pop right out. Save them if you're ambitious and use them in homemade stock (I've only been that ambitious once).

2. Take a damp kitchen towel and wipe off the mushroom caps (don't worry about clearning the gills). If you wash mushrooms, they'll absorb the water, not the marinade.

3. Place the mushroom caps in a bowl or Ziplock bag and pour the teriyaki sauce over. Swish around to make sure the caps are completely covered. Leave at room temperature (this takes some getting used to for someone who only usually marinates meat) for about an hour.

4. Preheat grill to around 350-400 degrees or medium high if your grill doesn't have a thermometer.

5. When the temperature is right, place the mushrooms, cap side down, on the grill for 5-8 minutes. They should have some nice grill marks. Flip and continue to grill for another 5 minutes.

Honestly, I feel like the portabellos' cook time is very similar to a chicken breast's cook time. If you cook both at the same time (like I often do because most of my family still prefers chicken), they should all be done at the same time.

The portabellos are done when there's some (but not much) spongy give--like chicken breasts.

I kept hoping to be super ambitious and do a youtube video about this, but I got shy. Maybe I'll work up my courage and get a demonstration up soon.

In the meantime, I think these are a nice meat replacement. I love them in the mango summer rolls instead of chicken, or on a sandwich with other grilled vegetables and mayo.

Hamburger Buns

When my trusty Gourmet cookbook said, "Yes, homemade hamburger buns are SO worth the effort." I wasn't convinced. So, I made a batch of Asher-safe ones (without whole milk and without eggs); good, but not worth the effort.

Then, I had the real ones at a friend's house, and yes, they are worth the effort--especially since this recipe makes 20 (or 5 meals at my house). And, we don't just use them for hamburgers. They make for delicious egg salad sandwiches, black bean burgers, grilled chicken sandwiches, etc.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Hamburger-Buns-242614

Corn, Arugula, and Cherry Tomato Salad

This picture doesn't do this salad justice. It's very pretty and even after it's dressed, it stays quite fresh. (I had it for lunch the next day while my kids ate Dino Chicken Nuggets because they have such refined tastes.)

But, be warned, I thought this was one of the BEST recipe finds I had made for quite a while, and if I could eat it every day this summer, I would. Nate, on the other hand, wasn't that impressed.

Corn, Arugula, and Cherry Tomato Salad
Williams-Sonoma Grilling Essentials

5 slices lean bacon, cooked and chopped
6-8 large ears of corn, shucked I found 6 to be plenty

2 C cherry tomatoes
1 bunch arugula (rocket), tough stems removed
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c fresh lime juice
salt and freshly cracked pepper

Oil grill rack. Note to self: don't spray cooking spray on the grill rack AFTER the grill is on--sigh...Grill the corn directly over the heat elements, turning occasionally, until just tender, 10-12 minutes total. The corn will char and be delicious.

Transfer the corn to a cutting board and let cool just until it can be handled. Cut off kernels. In a bowl, combine corn kernels, bacon, tomatoes, arugula, cilantro, garlic, and lime juice. Toss well. Season with salt and pepper. Serve salad soon after.

Add crumbled goat cheese for an added treat!

Ginger Soy Eggplant

I keep meaning to try grilling eggplant. Last week, I found this recipe in my mom's cookbook and got a gift of three Japanese eggplants from our neighbor's garden (thanks, Brother Jones!). So, I decided to try it out. I love how this eggplant is a little sweet, a great vegetarian option as either a sandwich filler or on its own with rice.

Ginger-Soy Eggplant
Williams-Sonoma Grilling Essentials

1 large globe eggplant (1 1/2 lb), peeled and cut crosswise in 1/2 inch slices or 3 Japanese eggplants

Ginger Soy Marinade

1/3 cup soy sauce
2 T mirin (Japanese cooking wine) or sherry
2 T rice vinegar
1 clove garlic minced
2 t peeled and minced fresh ginger
2 t sugar
freshly ground pepper

Choppes fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish

Lightly salt eggplant slices on both sides and lay them in a single layer on paper towels. Let stand for 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry. This is to leech out the bitterness in eggplant that has been sitting around for a while. There's no need to salt eggplant if you're lucky enough to have fresh eggplant from a garden.

Mix marinade in a wide, shallow, nonreactive bowl. Place eggplants in marinade and coat each slice. Let stand in marinade at room temperature for 1 hour, turning once. I accidentally marinaded these for 24 hours (23 in the fridge) and liked that it seemed to absorb the marinade more during that time. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Um, I forgot to do this. I took them straight out of the bowl and put them on the grill.

Grill eggplant slices turning once until soft when pierced with a knife, 5-8 minutes per side.

Arrange eggplant slices on warmed serving plate, sprinkle with parsley (I'll try cilantro next time) and serve hot or room temperature.

Pork Tenderloin Chile Rub

If you add the Black Bean Salad as a side dish to this pork, you'll have a dinner so good, you'd swear it was full of allergens. The original version of this recipe from Bobby Flay has been taken off the Food Network website, but he used like 3 different kinds of chile powder and added the brown sugar after the pork had been grilling for a while. I like adding the sugar right off; it creates a lovely caramelization and a crunchy crust.

3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons chile powder
2 t cinnamon
2 t allspice
2 tablespoons brown sugar

2-3 pounds pork tenderloin

Mix all spices and sugar together. Rub all over pork and grill.

SLP's Thai Peanut Noodles (and an Asher-safe version)

Some of us are great cooks, we can follow a recipe to the T, and some of us are great chefs. Inspiration strikes, and we make masterpieces.

Well, I shouldn't say "we" when it comes to chefs. I'm a solid cook, but SLP, she's a chef. She made this recipe for Gourmet Group years ago. Every time I make it (maybe once a week during the summer), there aren't any leftovers.

Her original version is amazing, but with my family, I've had to tweak it a bit. It's still quite tasty if you can't eat peanuts, shrimp or soy sauce (really, I promise!).

1 lb cooked peeled shrimp (I grill chicken)

1 C Italian salad dressing
2 T crunchy peanut butter (sunflower butter for Asher)
1 T soy sauce (Worcester sauce for Asher)
1 T honey
1 t ground ginger
½ t red pepper flakes
1 T sesame oil
8 oz package rice noodles (cooked)
2 T fresh cilantro
1 carrot, shredded
1 C green onions
1 C green beans (because my boys love this so much, they'll even eat the green beans)
2/3 C peanuts (optional)

Coat shrimp with ½ c Italian dressing and refrigerate for 30 minutes to absorbe the flavor. Mix the remaining dressing with the peanut butter, soy sauce, ginger and red pepper

Saute carrot, green onions and shrimp in sesame oil until shrimp is done. Mix pasta, peanut sauce and shrimp and serve

Thanks, SLP! This one has been a winner in our house for years, now...

Grilled Summer Salad

Ok, I haven't tried this, but it looks so good and I love peppers and goat cheese.

I also like what he said about not needing to eat so much meat.

See, Emily, you're not the only one who posts on here! (but, I'm not doing the post, just adding a link: a little lamer, but hey, it's a start!)

EXII recipes

I blog on a Mormon feminist site and used to do a monthly recipe feature. After a while, I thought I was the only one who was enjoying my monthly recipes, so I stopped.

Hmmm, come to think of it, I may be the only one who enjoys the recipes on this blog, too, but I still think it's worthwhile to have them all in one place (and isn't blogging all about naval-gazing anyway? :)

Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta
Carrot Ginger Dressing
Flan
Miso Eggplant
Red Lentil Soup
Sweet Potato Casserole
Summer Produce recipes (peaches and tomatoes)
Homemade Bread
Choi Sum
Black Beans and Rice
White Trash Dip
Barbequed Pork Tenderloin
Arugula and Grilled Chevre Salad
Artichoke Pesto

BBQ Pork Fried Rice

The pork in this recipe is so tasty that I might just make it and skip the rice (but the rice is good, too). The only thing I'd change is cut the rice from 6 cups (waaay too much) to 3.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_35793,00.html

Grilled New Potatoes

Just had these as a side dish tonight. Forgot how much I love them! The nice thing about this dish is it's all about approximations; it always turns out quite tasty.

Grilled New Potatoes with Parmesan and Herbs

5 lbs small red-skinned potatoes
4 T olive oil
1 C thinly sliced green onions
3 T chopped parsley
3 T grated Parmesan (I like feta to go with the oregano, or maybe I'm just too lazy to grate the Parmesan)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 t chopped fresh oregano (any fresh herb works; we've done rosemary, basil, and thyme)

Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and cool. Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Cut potatoes in half; transfer to large bowl. Add 2 T oil; toss to coat. Grill potatoes until golden, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl. Drizzle 2 T oil over. Add remaining ingredients; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Easy Spring Dinner

Balsamic Flank Steak --we use this marinade all summer long for grilling; we've done pork, chicken, beef, eggplant. All delicious, at least once a week.

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 T brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 t crushed dried rosemary --I put in 2-3 fresh sprigs because rosemary grows like crazy out here
salt and pepper
1 1/2 lb flank steak

In a resealable plastic bag or shallow dish, combine vinegar, sugar, garlic, rosemary, 1 t coarse salt, and 1/2 t ground pepper. Pierce meat all over with fork; add marinade, and turn to coat. Let marinate at room temperature at least 15 minutes, or cover and refrigerate up to 1 day.

Heat grill to high; oil grates. Remove steaks from marinade, allowing excess to drip off. Grill steaks 2 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to a plate; cover loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest 5 minutes.

Baked potatoes (pricked with a fork, 5 min high in microwave) with the fixin's
Grilled asparagus (wash and snap of bottoms of asparagus, drizzle and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, leave on the grill with the steak for 5-10 min)
Fruit of your choice

This menu has been used for Luke's birthday dinner and 2 Sunday dinners. Looks fancy, but takes so little time. Enjoy!