Spiced Chicken Kebabs and Asparagus with Mustard Sauce

Business is never so healthy as when, like a chicken, it must do a certain amount of scratching around for what it gets.
Henry Ford

Easy summer grilling adapted from Adam Perry Lang’s spiced grilled  chicken recipe.   Kebabs and a quick asparagus dish can be made even easier if you buy prepared kebabs at your local supermarket.

Instead of using whole bone in chicken pieces as called for in APL’s recipe, I made chicken kebabs using boneless chicken breasts that were brined, cut into chunks,  seasoned with APL’s spice paste then grilled on a charcoal hibachi.   Brush BBQ sauce on the kebabs the last 10 or so minutes, turning to get a little char on the kebabs.

A side dish was another recipe from Jacques Pepin’s Fast Food My Way a simple steamed or boiled asparagus dish with a tangy mustard sauce and chopped boiled egg, I prefer steamed asparagus.

Seasonal peaches and strawberries were delicious with Back in the Day cookbook shortcakes.   A fantastic cookbook !

 

 

For the spice paste:
1/2 cup mustard
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup chili powder
2 tablespoons garlic salt
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar or brown sugar substitute

For the fortified barbecue sauce: 1 cup favorite BBQ sauce I used APL’s recipe
1/4 cup pineapple preserves
1/4 cup dark brown sugar (or dark brown sugar substitute)
1 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce
1/2 cup water

---

Yields: 4-6 servings

---

Preparation

Preheat an indirect BBQ to 300˚F, with wood chips if possible.
Season chicken kebabs with spice paste and grill over hot coals, turning and marking chicken and brushing with BBQ sauce the last 5 or so minutes

While the chicken is cooking, combine the fortified barbecue sauce in a bowl and set aside.

Recipe: Asparagus Fans with Mustard Sauce

I like firm, fat, green asparagus with tight heads, and I always peel the lower third of the stalks with a vegetable peeler to make them tender. I often offer this as a first course.

The asparagus is dressed with a sauce of mayonnaise, mustard, and vinegar and garnished with hard-cooked eggs and chives. Cook the asparagus fairly close to when you will sit down; it tastes better if it is served directly from the boiling water without being refreshed under cold water.

4 servings

• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/4 pounds large firm green asparagus
• Salt
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives, for garnish

Mustard Sauce

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• Good dash freshly ground black pepper

Lower the eggs into enough boiling water to cover them and cook at a very gentle boil for 10 minutes. Drain off the water and shake the pan to crack the eggshells. Add ice to the pan and set aside for at least 15 minutes to cool completely. Shell the eggs and place them, one at a time, in an egg slicer, cut through them, then rotate them 45 degrees in the slicer and cut through them again to create strips. Alternatively, chop the eggs with a sharp knife. Set aside.

Peel the lower third of the asparagus spears with a vegetable peeler. Bring 3 cups salted water to a boil in a large skillet. Add the asparagus, cover partially, and bring back to a boil over high heat. Boil over high heat for 4 to 5 minutes, until the spears are tender but still firm. Using a slotted spatula, remove the asparagus from the water and put it on a platter.

For the sauce: Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl.

At serving time, arrange the asparagus spears on a platter, positioning them so the stem ends are close together and the tips are fanned out. Coat the lower third of the asparagus spears with the sauce and sprinkle the eggs and chives over and around them. Serve.

 

Pork Medallions with Grapes and Pomegranate Sauce

Some guy just asked me if my dog was a pomegranate.  I said “Umm no that would be a fruit”.  Chanel Dudley

A few simple ingredients turn a pork tenderloin into a fast and fabulous dish slightly adapted from  Jacques Pepin ~ More Fast Food My Way.   While I have his book, there is a wonderful site with videos worth looking at if you would like a mini cooking lesson, thank you Jacques.

http://www.kqed.org/w/morefastfoodmyway/episode219.html

I served a side of fresh sugar snap peas, blanched or steamed briefly, seasoned with salt and pepper then sautéed in a little butter.  I have finally used the steam option for the microwave so I steamed the peas before sautéing.

4 servings

• 1 large pork tenderloin (about 1 1/4 pounds)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon good olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup pomegranate juice
• 1/2 cup chicken stock, homemade, or low-salt canned chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 cup small green seedless grapes
• 3 tablespoons dried cherries or cranberries ( had both plus dried pomegrante infused cranberries)
• 1/4 cup shredded arugula (also suggests freshly chopped chives or parsley)

Trim the pork tenderloin of most of the fat and silverskin and cut it crosswise into 1-inch-thick medallions.

Preheat the oven to its lowest setting. Heat the butter and oil in a large, heavy skillet. Sprinkle the medallions with the salt and pepper. Arrange the medallions in a single layer in the skillet and cook them over high heat for about 2 1/2 minutes on each side, or until lightly pink inside. Transfer the medallions to a plate and keep warm in the oven.

Add the pomegranate juice and chicken stock to the skillet, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the ketchup, grapes, and cherries or cranberries and mix well. Boil for about 1 minute, or until the sauce is smooth and slightly thickened.

Arrange the medallions on four warm plates, coat with the sauce and grapes, and sprinkle with the shredded arugula. Serve.

Favorite products of the day 1 cup recipe ready chicken broth and Craisins brand dried fruit, Craisins original, dried cranberries and pomegranate juice infused cranberries.

http://www.oceanspray.com/Products/Craisins%C2%AE-Dried-Cranberries/Original-Dried-Cranberries-(1).aspx

Grilled Grouper & Fresh Mango, Pineapple & Papaya Salsa

“That outdoor grilling is a manly pursuit has long been beyond question. If this wasn’t firmly understood, you’d never get grown men to put on those aprons with pictures of dancing wienies and things on the front and messages like ‘Come ‘n’ Get It’”
- William Geist, ‘New York Times Magazine’

We have enjoyed several new and fresh main dish recipes in the past couple of weeks. A couple of new potato salad ideas and two salsas that I think will go well with grilled chicken, fish or pork.

Grilled shish kebab with cherry peppers & oregano, grouper, chorizo turkey burgers, main courses all delicious grilling choices. Rainy day meals were my ever-favorite soft shell crabs served with a mandarin orange salsa, chicken with grapes and olives, and a wonderful mushroom ragu adapted from Lidia Bastianich.

Corn on the cob with Cilantro lime chipotle butter, sweet potato salad with lime vinaigrette, and sun-dried tomato potato salad fresh tasting and nice changes from plain corn and potato salads.

Grilled Grouper with Spicy Apricot Glaze
~ Served with Fresh Pineapple, Mango, & Papaya Salsa~

For marinade ½ cup apricot preserves
¼ -1/2 teaspoon green curry paste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 heaping teaspoon grated fresh ginger pinches of Phillips seafood seasoning
Splashes of soy sauce and 1-teaspoon honey or to taste. Thoroughly blend

Season fish with salt & pepper or Cajun/Creole seasoning.

Grilled indirectly on a very hot seasoned griddle 350° (about 4-5 minutes per side depending on the thickness of the fish)…top with butter just after you place the fish on the grill to sear.

Soft shell crabs with a dusting of rice flour seasoned with Phillips Seafood Seasoning and Cajun or Creole seasoning, briefly sautéed and served with a side of Mandarin orange salsa…

Adapted from Fine Cooking #123 ~ Beef kebabs & Chorizo Turkey Burgers~

I made several new potato salad recipes from Debbie Moose’s “Potato Salad” book a very good book for potato lovers. It is hard to choose just one so I’ll mention a few that were fantastic. Tuscan Tater Salad with capers, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh chives, fresh basil with a mayo, sour cream, Dijon dressing or I might go with a white balsamic vinaigrette the next time. A grilled sweet potato salad with lime vinaigrette goes well with pork or chicken. Grilled potatoes and asparagus dressed with Garlic Dijon vinaigrette great with steak.

 

Japanese Style Filets with Gyu Dare Dipping Sauce

At its best, Japanese cooking is inextricably meshed with aesthetics, with religion, with tradition and history. It is evocative … of seasonal changes, or of one’s childhood, or of a storm at sea …

Filet Mignon & Grilled Broccoli and Cauliflower

The entire dinner cooked on the grill again, petite filets, broccoli, and cauliflower.  The veggie florets first blanched for a few minutes, drained and tossed in a bowl with a healthy dose of EVOO, salt pepper, red pepper flakes and halved cloves of peeled garlic, ready for a grill basket or griddle. Since I prepared 1 head of each, and roasted 2 Yukon gold potatoes specifically for the soup, I had enough veggies left for 2 quarts of broccoli cauliflower cheddar soup the next day and I must say that the grilled veggies added a depth of flavor and as an added benefit I used 3 cups of vegetable stock allowing me the choice of adding about 1/2 heavy cream and 1/2 -2% milk for a creamier style soup.  For a lighter version omit the dairy.

For the most part, I would prefer a rib eye steak or flatiron steak to a filet but we had wonderful petite filets simply salted, peppered, and grilled to a perfect rare-medium rare.  For the steaks.  I served a Japanese dipping sauce Ume Gyu Dare adapted from The Japanese Grill cookbook with additions of grated garlic, ginger, a bit of horseradish, and a little wasabi paste.

Serves 4

4 (1½-inch-thick) filet mignon steaks, about 2 pounds
Salt freshly ground black pepper
1 cup Gyu Dare Dipping Sauce and Marinade
1-tablespoon ume paste

Season the steaks on all sides with salt and pepper. Make the dipping sauce by whisking together the gyu dare and ume paste in a bowl. Divide between 4 small dipping bowls; set aside.

Preheat a grill for a two-zone fire (medium and hot; see Grilling Temperature Chart). Clean and thoroughly oil the grate. Grill the steaks, covered, about 8 minutes for medium-rare. Start on hot heat for 1 minute, and then shift the steaks to medium heat. After about 3 minutes, juices will begin to appear on top of the meat. Flip the steaks and repeat the two-zone grilling on the other side. When the steaks are ready, they will be browned and juicy on the surface. Test for doneness.  Let the filet mignon rest for about 5 minutes. Serve with the dipping sauce on the side.

Makes about 2 cups
¾ cup soy sauce
½ cup sake
½ cup mirin
¼ cup rice vinegar

Add the soy sauce, sake, mirin, and rice vinegar to a saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 1 minute, remove from the heat, and let the liquid cool to room temperature.

Before using, refrigerate for at least 12 hours, or overnight, to give the flavors time to mingle. Gyu dare can keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Accents to add to gyu dare, recommended about a tablespoon to 1-cup gyu dare.  Grated ginger, horseradish, garlic and several other Japanese condiments available in Asian markets along with herbs of choice. 

Antipasto Lunch

The  trouble with eating Italian food is that five or six days later you’re hungry  again.
George Miller

Lunch and Other Stuff
I have long admired the ladies of Canal House cookbook fame for a long time and subscribe to their lunch at the Canal House mail, so jealous that they have the time for something fantastic every day.  Well, today is my turn…a lovely little antipasto served on a surfboard shaped bamboo cutting board that I managed to eat on the porch, great lunch on a beautiful day.

I pickled cherry peppers a week or so ago and they were good to start with, but the spice and heat loving people will enjoy the fact that they now are only for a select few.  I was trying to save space, use up several fresh jalapenos so I emptied the big glass jar, and placed the cherry peppers in smaller canning jars with sliced fresh jalapenos…perky little peppers they are now, but not too hot to eat.  I enjoyed the peppers and shared a few with friends, stuffed with provolone and prosciutto on an antipasto platter…