1st BBQ of the summer

 

It’s finally June! And that means some nice weather (FINALLY) and it’s time to fire up the grill and start BBQ season! On the menu for the first BBQ of the season:

Soy-Balsamic Marinated Flat Iron Steak
Local Style Potato Salad
Grilled Pepper “Caprese” Salad
Roasted Broccoli and Sweet Potato Salad

Soy-Balsamic Marinade
Makes enough marinade for ~2lbs of meat, depending on the cut. The soy sauce, balsamic, and honey are in a 1:1:~1/3 ratio so you can easily adjust the recipe to make more/less marinade. Sesame oil has a strong flavor so start with less and you can always add more; same with the red pepper flakes.

1/4 cup+ 2 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup +2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp sesame oil
4 cloves garlic, rough chopped
1/2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
chili flakes

– Whisk ingredients together. Combine with meat in a ziploc bag and marinate for at least 4-6 hours; ideally overnight

Local Style Potato Salad
~2 lbs yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1″ pieces
2 carrots, grated
1/4 onion, finely diced
1 cup frozen peas
2-3 stalks celery, finely diced

• Instead of celery I used the broccoli stems that I had left over from the broccoli and sweet potato salad

4-8 oz bacon, thinly sliced and cooked till crispy
2:1 ratio mayonnaise:plain yogurt
salt
pepper
garlic powder
cayenne

– Bring potatoes to a boil in lightly salted water; turn heat and simmer potatoes until for tender
– Remove potatoes from heat and drain. Return potatoes to the hot pot along with the onion, peas, and celery and stir together
– Transfer potatoes to a large mixing bowl and add carrots and bacon. Season with garlic powder, pepper, and cayenne
– Add mayonnaise and yogurt until potato salad is desired wetness. Season with salt. Serve cold or room temperature

Grilled Pepper “Caprese” Salad
roasted peppers, cut into ~1″ pieces

• Simply season the bell peppers with olive oil, salt and pepper, and then grill till tender

cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes- halved, quartered, or cut into wedges depending on their size
basil, chiffonade
mozzarella, cut into chunks
salt
pepper
balsamic vinegar
olive oil

– Lightly salt the cut tomatoes and toss with the basil
– Once peppers are grilled add them to the tomatoes and add the mozzarella and toss. The heat from the peppers will warm the mozzarella and cause the tomatoes to release some of their juices
– Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Serve warm or room temperature

Roasted Broccoli and Sweet Potato Salad
4 large heads broccoli cut into 1/2″-1″ florets
3-4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2″ cubes
frozen pearl onions

• I had a 12oz bag and I used about 1/2 of it. Feel free to add more/less depending on whether you like onions

1/2 cup shredded, or grated, parmesan cheese
salt
pepper
garlic powder
olive oil

– Preheat oven to 425 degrees
– Toss broccoli with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Spread onto a baking sheet and roast till broccoli is tender; stir every once in a while so they don’t stick to the baking sheet
– Toss sweet potatoes and pearl onions with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Spread sweet potatoes onto a baking sheet and roast till tender. At the end, turn oven to broil to caramelize potatoes and onions
– Combine broccoli, sweet potatoes, and onions in a large mixing bowl and toss with parmesan cheese. Serve warm

*You could easily turn this salad into the star of a meal by adding quinoa and dried cranberries

Grill season is just getting started! I hope this gives you some ideas to get your grilling parties started! And remember you don’t need to be having a party to fire up the grill; cooking dinner for 2 is just as good a reason as any!

island style tofu watercress salad

This super simple salad is a local favorite in Hawaii. Don’t be turned off by the smell of the fish sauce, because it really adds umami and depth of flavor to the salad. If you really want to make the salad authentic, add some mini dried shrimp!

Tofu Watercress Salad

1 16-oz (1 lb) block regular or firm tofu, cut into small cubes
1 pint (~10.5oz) cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 bunch watercress, cut into 1″ segments
1/2 bunch cilantro, rough chopped
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp sesame oi
2 tbsp fish sauce (patis)
sriracha

– Rinse watercress and red onion under cold water to remove any dirt and crisp up the red onion. Drain well
– Combine watercress, red onion, tofu, and tomatoes in a large mixing bowl
– In a separate bowl, whisk together soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, fish sauce and sriracha to desired spiciness and pour over watercress
– Mix salad together and allow to sit for at least 30 minutes so all the flavors can blend

• The watercress will wilt and shrink, so if you want a greater proportion of watercress to other ingredients try using 2 bunches

 

 

quinoa tuna salad

Had some leftover cooked quinoa and asparagus in the fridge and what started as a cold salad soon turned into a warm salad. I also found sustainably caught canned tuna at Costco and had to try it. You could add so many ingredients to this salad and there really aren’t set amounts for things… so just have fun!

Quinoa Tuna Salad

~4 cups cooked quinoa
1 can white cannellini beans (white lima beans or northern beans would work)
asparagus, cut into 1-1 1/2″ segments
1 bell pepper, medium diced
1/2 red onion, small diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil
~3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (not packed)
1 can tuna, broken into chunks
1/2 lemon, juiced (you most likely won’t need all the juice)
olive oil
salt and pepper

– Fluff quinoa in a large mixing bowl
– Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add red onion and garlic and cook until onions begin to soften and then add asparagus and bell peppers. Cook until just tender
– Add mixture to quinoa. Return pan to heat and add sun dried tomatoes, with their oil, and tuna. Season tuna with salt and pepper and add to quinoa mix
– Add parmesan cheese and mix everything together. Squeeze lemon juice over salad and drizzle with olive oil, remix, taste and adjust seasoning

can you find mochi? 🙂

sexy salads

We’ve been on a salad kick so far this week and I figured with summer supposedly just around the corner, this would be a great time to share some of my favorite salads. The best part about salads is that they don’t have set recipes, you can add/remove/substitute ingredients with whatever you have on hand. Having said that, there are some combinations that I particularly like…None of them “feature” a protein, but if you have to have one, grilled chicken, shrimp, or steak normally work

Pesto, Sun-dried Tomato, and Feta (makes a hearty meal for 2 people)
Normally I like to make my own pesto, but Costco has great pre-made one that lasts for a while without turning brown, and makes a great salad dressing!

1/2-1 head romaine lettuce, thinly sliced
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced or sliced, oil drained
grape tomatoes, halved
1 carrot, sliced
1/2 bell pepper, medium diced
1/2 cucumber, split lengthwise into quarters and then sliced
feta cheese and/or shredded parmesan (as much or as little as you want)
pesto! start with 2-3 tablespoons, toss the salad around and then decide if you’d like more
freshly ground pepper

*An equally delicious variation of this salad uses the same ingredients, minus the pesto, and instead of draining the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes, add it in with them and then drizzle the salad with balsamic vinegar. Parmesan cheese matches this version better than the feta

Mixed Greens, Almonds, Mandarin Orange, and Dried Cranberries
I used to order this salad several times a week from the salad bar when I was in college and it’s still one of my favorites

Mixed greens
carrots, shredded (or grated)
cucumber, split lengthwise into quarters and then sliced
grape tomatoes, halved
mandarin oranges, drained
toasted almonds, roughly chopped
dried cranberries
feta cheese
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
freshly ground pepper

– When I use balsamic vinegar in salads I tend to use mostly vinegar and just a little bit of oil, so I rarely pre-mix the two, but if you want to make sure you have the dressing just to your liking, simply whisk the olive oil and balsamic vinegar in a separate bowl before drizzling over the salad

Three-Bean, Blue Cheese, Tortilla Salad (makes enough salad for a 2 person meal)
I’m not a big fan of ranch dressing, but I love blue cheese dressing. I usually buy a store-made dressing, and a small block of blue cheese, and then I add extra blue cheese to my salads (since store-made ones never have enough cheese), because if I buy the large block from Costco I always end up with more blue cheese than I know what to do with. However, if you know you can use up that big block of cheese, then definitely buy it and make some homemade dressing!

1/2-1 head romaine lettuce, thinly sliced
1/2 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 can sweet corn, drained
grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cucumber, split lengthwise into quarters and then sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1/2 bell pepper, medium diced
2-3 handfuls tortilla chips, crushed
Blue cheese dressing, store-bought or see recipe below

Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing
The ratio of mayonnaise:yogurt:heavy cream is 1:1:~1/4, so using that ratio you can shrink or multiply this recipe to fit your needs

1 cup mayonnaise
1 6-8oz container plain yogurt
~1/4 cup heavy cream (or half and half)

• The amount of cream you add can vary depending on how thick you want your dressing. If you’re using it more as a dip you may want to omit the cream all together and keep it really thick

2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dry mustard
crumbled blue cheese- the amount is up to you
salt and pepper to taste

– Mix mayonnaise, yogurt, cream and seasoning together till smooth. Fold in blue cheese so it stays in nice big chunks
– Great on salads or as a dipping sauce

Strawberry, Bacon, Goat Cheese Spinach Salad

fresh spinach
strawberries, quartered

• blueberries work really well, too

red onion, cut into quarters and then thinly slice
grape tomatoes, halved
goat cheese, crumbled
toasted almonds, roughly chopped
bacon, thinly sliced and cooked till crispy

• When cooking the bacon, reserve bacon fat for dressing

balsamic vinegar
Worcestershire sauce (optional)
salt and pepper

– As I mentioned earlier, I tend to go heavy on the vinegar and add oil as an afterthought, which is the same thing I normally do here, but I use the bacon fat instead and add a dash of worcestershire. Yes, the bacon fat is indulgent, but it adds so much flavor! But you can always use olive oil

Here’s to looking forward to some hot, sunny days!
Panang Panang, Bali, 2011