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Thursday, August 26, 2010

Recipe Review From 8/16/10

Last week was a stellar week for new recipes.  Beautiful weather lent itself to a variety of vegetable dishes and grilling.  All of these came together fairly quickly  - or could even be made ahead of time - which meant more time to enjoy the evenings.


Grilled Peppers and Lentils  (Ckng Lght Aug 2010) 3.5
I pulled this together at the same time I was making stuffed grilled zucchini from the week previous -  I had the grill going anyway so why not grill up those peppers?  This came out just a tich on the bland side for me, but the addition of some goat cheese sprinkled on top made for a delightful lunch.  One can grill the peppers while the lentils cook. 

Sorry - no picture! 

You can substitute 1 1/4 teaspoons ground fennel seeds if fennel pollen is unavailable.


Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 1/3 cups)

Ingredients
1 red bell pepper, quartered and seeded
1 green bell pepper, quartered and seeded
1 yellow bell pepper, quartered and seeded

Cooking spray

1 1/8 teaspoons salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 1/2 cups dried lentils (about 3/4 pound)
1 small onion, peeled and halved
1 bay leaf
2/3 cup chopped plum tomato
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/3 cup cilantro leaves
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon fennel pollen   I skipped

Preparation
1. Preheat grill to high heat.

2. Lightly coat bell pepper pieces with cooking spray. Place bell pepper pieces, skin side down, on grill rack; grill 12 minutes or until skins are blackened. Place bell pepper pieces in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 15 minutes; peel and chop bell peppers. Discard skins. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Place bell peppers in a large bowl.

3. Rinse and drain lentils; place in a large saucepan. Cover with water to 3 inches above lentils; add onion and bay leaf to pan. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until lentils are just tender. Drain lentils. Discard onion halves and bay leaf. Add lentils to bell peppers. Add remaining 5/8 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, tomato, and remaining ingredients to lentil mixture; stir well.




Edamame Succotash  (Ckng Lght Aug 2010) 4.0
Very quick and easy to pull together.  I did follow the recommendation and served with a baguette and herbed goat cheese.  Make refreshing lunches in the following days.  Also a great way to use up some garden produce - I added some zucchini to mine.  Yum!


Edamame makes a hearty addition to this summer staple. If you can't find frozen, shelled edamame (green soybeans), substitute the more traditional lima beans. Serve with a baguette and Neufchâtel cheese.


Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups)

Ingredients
1 slice center-cut bacon (can omit and use olive oil)
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups chopped sweet onion
2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 3 ears)
1 (16-ounce) bag frozen, shelled edamame, thawed  (can sub peas or baby lima beans)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3 plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons torn basil  (I omitted)

Preparation
1. Cook bacon in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 2 teaspoons drippings in pan; coarsely chop bacon.

2. Increase the heat to medium-high. Melt butter in drippings in pan. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add corn kernels; sauté for 3 minutes or until lightly charred. Add edamame, and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in vinegar and next 5 ingredients (through bell pepper); cook 30 seconds, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with bacon and basil.




Chicken Sliders with Pickled Onions (Ckng Lght Aug 2010) 4.5
These were good both in taste and in ease of prep, especially since the Husband was great in pulling this meal together.  It helped that I had frozen, grilled leftover chicken from a couple weeks ago on hand.  Really, this can be done with a rotisserie chicken if you don't want to putz around with grilling thighs.  The pickled onions are tangy-sweet and add a really nice counterpoint to the BBQ sauce.  This isn't a traditional red BBQ sauce, but a delightful white one. 

Shredded, grilled chicken thighs are dipped in Carolina-style barbecue sauce, a vinegar-based mix with mustard, a little honey, seasonings, and butter.


Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 sliders)


Ingredients
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar, divided  (I subbed cider vinegar)
1 1/2 tablespoons honey, divided
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, trimmed  I recommend rotisserie chicken
1/8 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
8 (1.5-ounce) pull-apart dinner rolls (such as Sara Lee) (I used w.w. ciabatta rolls)


Preparation
1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.


2. Combine sliced onion, 1 tablespoon vinegar, and 1 1/2 teaspoons honey in a small bowl; toss well. Cover and refrigerate onion mixture at least 30 minutes.


3. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar, remaining 1 tablespoon honey, 2 tablespoons water, mustard, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring to a simmer (do not boil). Simmer 5 minutes; stir in butter. Remove from heat; keep warm.


4. Sprinkle chicken with remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper and salt. Place on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from grill; cool slightly. Shred chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add chicken to saucepan with mustard mixture, and toss gently to coat.


5. Cut rolls in half crosswise. Place rolls, cut sides down, on grill; grill 1 minute or until toasted. Spoon about 1/3 cup chicken mixture over bottom half of each roll. Top each roll with about 1 teaspoon drained onion slices and top half of roll. Serve immediately.




Grilled Corn with Honey Butter (Ckng Lght Aug 2010)
I wanted something different than regular butter on my corn and this recipe was right next to the Chicken sliders.  Hmmm...I thought, something to go with the BBQ!  A nice change of pace - I would recommend cutting back on the black and red pepper as it was almost to much heat in contrast with the sweetness of the honey.  I

4 ears shucked corn

Cooking spray
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon honey
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (optional)
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Preparation


1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.


2. Place corn on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 8 minutes, turning frequently.

3. Combine butter, honey, salt, and peppers; brush over corn.



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