Dang. Thought I had come up with this delicious little marinade on my own, but as it turns out, I've made it before.
Here is Giada's roasted chicken with balsamic vinaigrette recipe. Anyone else wish Everyday Italian would come back? Anyway. I somehow did this one from memory, almost exactly, when I was getting ready to grill some chicken tonight that would adorn the top of a big plate of angel hair dressed in my makeshift pesto.
My marinade (which I think would make a dang fine salad dressing) was to squeeze into a bowl the juice of half a lemon, about 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, good pinch of salt, pepper, some honey, and some dijon mustard, whisking in some extra virgin olive oil at the end (yielded about 2/3 cup of marinade/dressing... adjust ingredients to your liking).
Pour over some chicken breasts (may want to save some of the marinade to dress chicken with post-grilling), marinate in fridge for 30 minutes. Grill. Enjoy.
Showing posts with label grill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grill. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
Grilled Chicken and Corn Salad with Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette
Yesterday, I picked up my very first basket from the local Farmer's Market Basket warehouse (props to Jayme for suggesting it!). I signed up to get a small basket every other week, but I may have to increase either the basket size or delivery frequency, as I was so super impressed with what I got for $10: a bunch of lettuce, bananas, apples, peaches, green onions, a HUGE sweet potato, 3 ears of corn, a super delicious tomato, and a cucumber. It was worth it to have someone else assemble a basket of goodies for me, and save me the time of perusing different market stands or the produce section to figure out what I wanted to cook with that week. Plus, a lot of the produce was from local farmers. After what felt like a super long day at work, I was revitalized just by making dinner, since I challenged myself to use as much of the basket as possible last night. I came up with the following:
Yes, I realize I am on a major salad kick. Don't be fooled into thinking I'm super healthy, though. The healthiness of dinner is sufficiently balanced with my nightly post-dinner snack habit: chocolate truffles (if I have them), ice cream (probably the healthier option, as at least it's Edy's Slow-Churned low-fat) or graham crackers covered in Nutella with a glass of milk.
Oh, and I was halfway done with this salad at the point I took the picture. Oops!
I realized that I had some chicken breasts in the freezer, and some nearly-bad avocados and a half can of black beans hanging out in the fridge, and I knew that I wanted to grill that precious corn, so I did a little cookbook scouring and came up with a dressing that I thought would match everything else I'd have going on in the salad. I ended up with a little lettuce and tomato left over - which will go to good use in my carbo-loading dinner tonight (triathlon tomorrow!). Here's how I made my tasty noms salad.
Grill the following:
* 2 chicken breasts, butterflied or split into portions of equal thickness for uniform grilling time, that have been marinating in Dale's sauce (or soy sauce if you don't keep Dale's in your fridge)
*grill them until they reach an internal temperature of about 155-157, remove from grill, cover with tin foil, and allow to rest for 5 minutes before chopping or shredding with your fingers to go on top of the salad
* 3 ears corn, husked, drizzled with olive oil and tossed with salt (throw on the grill and rotate about every 4 minutes until all "sides" are sufficiently cooked)
* once the corn is cooked, allow to cool slightly, then remove the kernels from the cob with a knife so you can add it to the salad
In the meantime, prepare the rest of the salad:
* dark green lettuce, rinsed and rough chopped
* diced tomato
* diced avocado
* some black beans, out of the can, drained and rinsed
* green onions or scallions, diced
Set aside and make the dressing in your blender, mini food processor, a sealed container, or a bowl with a whisk:
* couple tablespoons of cilantro (yay, herb garden!)
* zest of one lime
* juice of 2 limes (anyone else noticed that the limes this year are just not that juicy?)
* twice as much extra virgin olive oil as there is lime juice
* generous pinch of salt
* about 1/2 - 1 teaspoon chili powder
Assemble and enjoy!
Yes, I realize I am on a major salad kick. Don't be fooled into thinking I'm super healthy, though. The healthiness of dinner is sufficiently balanced with my nightly post-dinner snack habit: chocolate truffles (if I have them), ice cream (probably the healthier option, as at least it's Edy's Slow-Churned low-fat) or graham crackers covered in Nutella with a glass of milk.
Oh, and I was halfway done with this salad at the point I took the picture. Oops!
I realized that I had some chicken breasts in the freezer, and some nearly-bad avocados and a half can of black beans hanging out in the fridge, and I knew that I wanted to grill that precious corn, so I did a little cookbook scouring and came up with a dressing that I thought would match everything else I'd have going on in the salad. I ended up with a little lettuce and tomato left over - which will go to good use in my carbo-loading dinner tonight (triathlon tomorrow!). Here's how I made my tasty noms salad.
Grill the following:
* 2 chicken breasts, butterflied or split into portions of equal thickness for uniform grilling time, that have been marinating in Dale's sauce (or soy sauce if you don't keep Dale's in your fridge)
*grill them until they reach an internal temperature of about 155-157, remove from grill, cover with tin foil, and allow to rest for 5 minutes before chopping or shredding with your fingers to go on top of the salad
* 3 ears corn, husked, drizzled with olive oil and tossed with salt (throw on the grill and rotate about every 4 minutes until all "sides" are sufficiently cooked)
* once the corn is cooked, allow to cool slightly, then remove the kernels from the cob with a knife so you can add it to the salad
In the meantime, prepare the rest of the salad:
* dark green lettuce, rinsed and rough chopped
* diced tomato
* diced avocado
* some black beans, out of the can, drained and rinsed
* green onions or scallions, diced
Set aside and make the dressing in your blender, mini food processor, a sealed container, or a bowl with a whisk:
* couple tablespoons of cilantro (yay, herb garden!)
* zest of one lime
* juice of 2 limes (anyone else noticed that the limes this year are just not that juicy?)
* twice as much extra virgin olive oil as there is lime juice
* generous pinch of salt
* about 1/2 - 1 teaspoon chili powder
Assemble and enjoy!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Maple-Mustard Glaze
Really? It's been since February that I've blogged? How sad and pathetic. Of course, I've cooked since February - guess I've just kept all my recipes to myself.
But, it's summer, and my teaching load has been reduced from 6 sections to 1 for the months of June and July. Hooray! More time for, well, everything. So what am I doing with myself all summer? In typical LBD fashion, here's a list:
1. Reduce dissertation into neat little articles and publish
2. Revise & resubmit that thesis article that just won't go away
3. Update the blog as much as possible (both here, and at Adventures of Team Dawmilam)
4. Get a tan (laugh)
5. Maintain fitness enough to get through two triathlons, a 10K, and begin preparing for the next half marathon this fall
6. Travel, a lot
7. Work on an assortment of school-related stuff
8. See Dave Matthews Band at least once
9. Watch as much Mad Men, 24, and other worthy tv shows via Netflix
10. Continue to figure out what happened on LOST this year
Yep, that should keep me busy until at least August.
In the meantime, how about a recipe? Of course, again, with no picture. This one falls into the "sounds fancy but was super cheap" category. At my local Kroger on Sunday, I picked up a small, 1.5 pound pork tenderloin (plain - what's up with Hormel shoving all those marinated versions in our faces lately?), for $2.93. Score! Manager's special. I just had to make sure I used it or froze it by yesterday. Sometimes, I like buying food "on condition" that I'll do something with it or to it by a certain date. It's like a game.
I followed the directions provided in my trusty America's Best Recipe cookbook that truly is the very best recipes for everything. And, they did not lead me astray on this one. The grilled roast was delicious - perfectly juicy (thanks, I'm sure, to the brine) and had a tasty, tangy crust on the outside. I served it with leftover rice and some grilled asparagus, and it provided 4 portions. After we ate dinner last night, and I fixed Dave lunch with some of the leftovers, I still have some of the pork in the fridge for me... the next challenge is coming up with how to use those leftovers!
Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Maple Mustard Glaze
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine/heat the following until salt and sugar are dissolved:
-about 1/4 cup salt
-about 2 tablespoons sugar
-some black peppercorns
-some allspice
-some crystallized ginger
-about 3/4 cup water
After that's all dissolved, dilute it in 2 1/2 - 3 quarts of ice cold water. As soon as the entire mixture is sufficiently cold, soak a small pork tenderloin (mine was about 1 1/2 pounds) in the brine for at least 8 hours/up to overnight. Make sure your pork is neatly trussed as such:
(if you're like me, and mechanical engineering isn't your strong suit, you'll stand there in the kitchen for about 10 minutes trying different ways to truss the pork, knowing full well you won't be able to do it the way you want to because you forgot to look it up before you started to handle the raw pork, and by the time you realize you should just quit and look it up, you decide instead to whine/curse loud enough so that your husband comes in to check in to see what's wrong but ends up taking over & doing it for you because he's an engineer and is much more efficient at knot-tying than you are... which is okay because I'm much more efficient at, like, cooking than he is. Division of Labor FTW!)
Preheat grill to at least 400. While grill preheats, generously salt, pepper and olive oil the meat (discard the brine). Also prepare the mustard/maple glaze:
equal parts grainy mustard and maple syrup
about a teaspoon of soy sauce
whisk together, use most of it to baste the pork during grilling, and reserve some to serve on the side if needed
Throw the meat on the grill, searing both sides for at least 4 minutes. Turn off one of the burners, leave the meat over one active burner, and roast until cooked through. After it's been seared on each side, start to baste it with the maple-mustard glaze until it's cooked.
Now, about "cooking through"... USDA regulation suggests that pork is cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees before consumption. Foodies will tell you that if you leave the meat on the grill until it reaches 160, the pork loses all its juiciness, and instead you should remove the pork when it's reached 135. I am more conservative with pork temperatures, so I cooked mine until it reached about 152, then covered it and allowed it to rest for 5 minutes, and it turned out perfect, in my mind. True foodies might have complained it was overcooked. However, neither Dave nor I felt that the meat was dry or overcooked, and neither of us got trichinosis either.
We sliced it up into small medallions and really enjoyed this grilled treat. Hope you do too!
But, it's summer, and my teaching load has been reduced from 6 sections to 1 for the months of June and July. Hooray! More time for, well, everything. So what am I doing with myself all summer? In typical LBD fashion, here's a list:
1. Reduce dissertation into neat little articles and publish
2. Revise & resubmit that thesis article that just won't go away
3. Update the blog as much as possible (both here, and at Adventures of Team Dawmilam)
4. Get a tan (laugh)
5. Maintain fitness enough to get through two triathlons, a 10K, and begin preparing for the next half marathon this fall
6. Travel, a lot
7. Work on an assortment of school-related stuff
8. See Dave Matthews Band at least once
9. Watch as much Mad Men, 24, and other worthy tv shows via Netflix
10. Continue to figure out what happened on LOST this year
Yep, that should keep me busy until at least August.
In the meantime, how about a recipe? Of course, again, with no picture. This one falls into the "sounds fancy but was super cheap" category. At my local Kroger on Sunday, I picked up a small, 1.5 pound pork tenderloin (plain - what's up with Hormel shoving all those marinated versions in our faces lately?), for $2.93. Score! Manager's special. I just had to make sure I used it or froze it by yesterday. Sometimes, I like buying food "on condition" that I'll do something with it or to it by a certain date. It's like a game.
I followed the directions provided in my trusty America's Best Recipe cookbook that truly is the very best recipes for everything. And, they did not lead me astray on this one. The grilled roast was delicious - perfectly juicy (thanks, I'm sure, to the brine) and had a tasty, tangy crust on the outside. I served it with leftover rice and some grilled asparagus, and it provided 4 portions. After we ate dinner last night, and I fixed Dave lunch with some of the leftovers, I still have some of the pork in the fridge for me... the next challenge is coming up with how to use those leftovers!
Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Maple Mustard Glaze
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine/heat the following until salt and sugar are dissolved:
-about 1/4 cup salt
-about 2 tablespoons sugar
-some black peppercorns
-some allspice
-some crystallized ginger
-about 3/4 cup water
After that's all dissolved, dilute it in 2 1/2 - 3 quarts of ice cold water. As soon as the entire mixture is sufficiently cold, soak a small pork tenderloin (mine was about 1 1/2 pounds) in the brine for at least 8 hours/up to overnight. Make sure your pork is neatly trussed as such:
(if you're like me, and mechanical engineering isn't your strong suit, you'll stand there in the kitchen for about 10 minutes trying different ways to truss the pork, knowing full well you won't be able to do it the way you want to because you forgot to look it up before you started to handle the raw pork, and by the time you realize you should just quit and look it up, you decide instead to whine/curse loud enough so that your husband comes in to check in to see what's wrong but ends up taking over & doing it for you because he's an engineer and is much more efficient at knot-tying than you are... which is okay because I'm much more efficient at, like, cooking than he is. Division of Labor FTW!)
Preheat grill to at least 400. While grill preheats, generously salt, pepper and olive oil the meat (discard the brine). Also prepare the mustard/maple glaze:
equal parts grainy mustard and maple syrup
about a teaspoon of soy sauce
whisk together, use most of it to baste the pork during grilling, and reserve some to serve on the side if needed
Throw the meat on the grill, searing both sides for at least 4 minutes. Turn off one of the burners, leave the meat over one active burner, and roast until cooked through. After it's been seared on each side, start to baste it with the maple-mustard glaze until it's cooked.
Now, about "cooking through"... USDA regulation suggests that pork is cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees before consumption. Foodies will tell you that if you leave the meat on the grill until it reaches 160, the pork loses all its juiciness, and instead you should remove the pork when it's reached 135. I am more conservative with pork temperatures, so I cooked mine until it reached about 152, then covered it and allowed it to rest for 5 minutes, and it turned out perfect, in my mind. True foodies might have complained it was overcooked. However, neither Dave nor I felt that the meat was dry or overcooked, and neither of us got trichinosis either.
We sliced it up into small medallions and really enjoyed this grilled treat. Hope you do too!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Grilled Pork Chops with Rosemary & Garlic
God bless my mother (who I know is reading this), but growing up, I hated pork chop night. She always pan-fried bone-in chops, and there's nothing wrong with that. I just didn't know pork could be thick, tender, and juicy until I decided to cook it one day myself. (Note: I should admit, in my mother's defense, that I refused to try anything that wasn't Kraft macaroni and cheese, or ground beef tacos in Old El Paso shells with Velveeta on top. Come to think of it, I rarely ate anything that didn't have some form of Velveeta cheese in it or on it, and I only drank SunDrop. My today self shudders at the thought. It's ok. I was quite a picky eater, and it's not necessarily her fault that I didn't like her pork chops. I didn't like anything back then. And I'm very grateful that she placated my horrible palate and always made me macaroni and cheese, no matter what we were having for dinner. When I have children, I'm not going to be that nice. The kids can eat what I make, make something themselves, or starve.) I think my first yummy pork adventure was when I attempted something out of a Rachael Ray cookbook, in which I simply seared the pork chops, threw them in the oven to finish cooking, and made a mustard sauce (similar to the one I made with caramelized onions) out of the pan drippings. It was simply divine. Pork chops are generally inexpensive, they freeze well so you can catch them on sale and stock up, and if you cut the fat off the side, it's a fairly lean cut of meat; a great carnivorous diversion from the usual chicken or beef.
I can't tell you how much Dave and I enjoy grilled pork chops. If done right, they are flavorful and juicy, just as the ones we made last night. What I invented last night sounded like something Giada would make.
Grilled Pork Chops with Rosemary & Garlic
4 pork chops (I used boneless; Kroger was out of bone-in, but whatever you've got will work)
couple sprigs of fresh rosemary (thank you, Christy, for that lovely rosemary plant that I by some miracle haven't killed yet)
one clove of garlic
salt & pepper
extra virgin olive oil
Preheat grill. Prepare a rub for the pork by chopping together the garlic, rosemary, and salt. Mince it into a paste with a sharp knife, or grind together with a mortar and pestle. Set aside. Rub pork chops with oil, pepper generously, then massage the rub into the meat. Grill until cooked through (use a meat thermometer: make sure it registers 170 degrees). Set aside and cover with tin foil, allow to rest for 5 minutes so the juices redistribute and the pork stays juicy.
We devoured these with homemade mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus.
And I know this is random, but if I had all the money in the world, the first thing I'd do is hire someone to go out and buy me all the clothes that Giada wears. I'm sure it helps to have a husband who works for Anthropologie. But still. I love her clothes. All of them.
I can't tell you how much Dave and I enjoy grilled pork chops. If done right, they are flavorful and juicy, just as the ones we made last night. What I invented last night sounded like something Giada would make.
Grilled Pork Chops with Rosemary & Garlic
4 pork chops (I used boneless; Kroger was out of bone-in, but whatever you've got will work)
couple sprigs of fresh rosemary (thank you, Christy, for that lovely rosemary plant that I by some miracle haven't killed yet)
one clove of garlic
salt & pepper
extra virgin olive oil
Preheat grill. Prepare a rub for the pork by chopping together the garlic, rosemary, and salt. Mince it into a paste with a sharp knife, or grind together with a mortar and pestle. Set aside. Rub pork chops with oil, pepper generously, then massage the rub into the meat. Grill until cooked through (use a meat thermometer: make sure it registers 170 degrees). Set aside and cover with tin foil, allow to rest for 5 minutes so the juices redistribute and the pork stays juicy.
We devoured these with homemade mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus.
And I know this is random, but if I had all the money in the world, the first thing I'd do is hire someone to go out and buy me all the clothes that Giada wears. I'm sure it helps to have a husband who works for Anthropologie. But still. I love her clothes. All of them.
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