Chicken and pineapple…ooh lala… July 9, 2007

Today was grill day, and I fixed up all kinds of wonderful things…

First was two different kinds of chicken. Though the usual fare is to marinate in Italian dressing (which I also did), this time I took some advice from a local bar and grill. So, in place of italian I used Catalina dressing….

This isn’t the best photo, but I wanted to show an example. This beautiful red-orange glow is, in fact, the fully cooked chicken. When I saw chicken fixed this way for the first time, my reaction was..’is it raw?’ Nope..I assure you it isn’t. Its flavor is simply amazing: a mix of charcoal smokiness and candy sweetness….

Next on the grill was pineapple, at the peak of ripeness. Recipe is included below…

Grilled Pineapple

 

Recipe from The Mayo Clinic…

 

Ingredients

For the marinade:

2 tablespoons dark honey

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

 

1 firm yet ripe pineapple

8 wooden skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes, or metal skewers

1 tablespoon dark rum (optional)

 

1 tablespoon grated lime zest

 

Directions

Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal grill or heat a gas grill or broiler (grill). Away from the heat source, lightly coat the grill rack or broiler pan with cooking spray. Position the cooking rack 4 to 6 inches from the heat source.

To make the marinade, in a small bowl, combine the honey, olive oil, lime juice, cinnamon and cloves and whisk to blend. Set aside.

Cut off the crown of leaves and the base of the pineapple. Stand the pineapple upright and, using a large, sharp knife, pare off the skin, cutting downward just below the surface in long, vertical strips and leaving the small brown “eyes” on the fruit. Lay the pineapple on its side. Aligning the knife blade with the diagonal rows of eyes, cut a shallow furrow, following a spiral pattern around the pineapple, to remove all the eyes. Stand the peeled pineapple upright and cut it in half lengthwise. Place each pineapple half cut-side down and cut it lengthwise into four long wedges; slice away the core. Cut each wedge crosswise into three pieces. Thread the three pineapple pieces onto each skewer.

Lightly brush the pineapple with the marinade. Grill or broil, turning once and basting once or twice with the remaining marinade, until tender and golden, about 5 minutes on each side.

Remove the pineapple from the skewers and place on a platter or individual serving plates. Brush with the rum, if using, and sprinkle with the lime zest. Serve hot or warm.

Bon Appetit!

Tomato-Basil Sauce July 5, 2007

Simple Tomato-Basil Sauce

Robin Miller’s recipe, Lisa style…

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with sauce

1 8 oz can tomato paste with garlic

Dried basil, to taste (about 1 tsp. or a palmful)

garlic salt or 1 garlic clove (or more, if you love garlic..)

black pepper or crushed red pepper (I use both)

Dried oregano, to taste (about 1 tsp. or a palmful)

Dried parsley, to taste (about 1 tsp. or a palmful)

1 tsp. sugar

handful of fresh basil, chopped

handful of fresh parsley, chopped

In a pan over medium heat, combine both cans of diced tomatoes, can of tomato paste, dried basil, dried parsley, dried oregano, garlic salt (or garlic cloves), black pepper, and sugar. Cover and let simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. When sauce is finished simmering, remove from heat. Add fresh parsley, fresh basil, and crushed red pepper, if desired. (I also like to add a little extra garlic salt). Stir together and serve over hot pasta.

Sunday is Strawberries… July 2, 2007

….in all of their glory…

In the summer when fruit’s sweetness is at its peak, it seems a beautiful bowl like this makes more sense for dessert than cakes, pies, cookies, or any of that stuff.. wouldn’t you agree?

Sharin’ the Love… June 25, 2007

Well, this is off to a peachy start, isn’t it?

I just wanted to make a quick note about a food find I have come across recently. This actually comes from a network of churches throughout the country. You don’t even have to be a member of the church (I’m not) or part of a fixed income program to take advantage of this offer. Every month the Angel Food Ministries put a menu on their website of various frozen items, staple foods,etc. If you stop by one of the churches on a designated date, or mail a check for $25, you will be eligible to receive every item on the menu. Usually these will be available for pickup a few Saturdays after the order date. There are also packaged deals including grill boxes, assorted chicken products, and other special deals for an extra $16-$18. This is a great idea for someone who likes to do minimal cooking as most of the items only require reheating. I would suggest getting a bigger freezer or cleaning out the one you have,though, if you decide to take advantage of this offer as most of the items require freezing. The website includes a list of every participating church across the U.S. I’m not sure if there is a similar program in Canada; I’ll have to do a little research and post an update here if I find a website…