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!

beans and greens

It may not win any awards for being pretty, but it’s a hearty, delicious one-pot meal.

Beans and Greens

1 onion, small diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 lbs cabbage (or just one small head)
1 quart chicken stock
parmesan cheese rind (optional)
1 lb italian style pork sausage

• Feel free to use sweet, mild, or hot sausage. If you purchase sausage already in casings, just the end of casing and squeeze the sausage filling out of the casing. Turkey sausage would also work, and so would chicken, but you’ll probably have to slice up the chicken sausage, because it normally doesn’t break up like turkey or pork sausage

1 can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
1 can butter beans, drained and rinsed

• You can use all or just one or two types of white beans; I just like the different sizes and flavors

1 head mustard greens, kale, collard greens, or swiss chard, cut into 1/2″ pieces
2 lbs broccoli (or 3 heads)
2 tbsp butter
salt and pepper

– Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic
– Cut the cabbage into quarters and remove the core. Julienne cabbage, aka cut into a thin strips and add to the onions and garlic
– Deglaze pot with the chicken stock and cook cabbage for 20 minutes. If you have a parmesan rind add it in now; it’ll slowly melt as it cooks. I normally take it out before I add the greens. If you leave it in remember it’s in there and don’t it
– Add sausage and break up into pieces. Add all of the beans and continue cooking over medium-low or medium heat

• Cooking the sausage in the stock allows all the flavors in the sausage to flavor the cabbage and stock

– While sausage and beans are cooking, cut up the broccoli into florets. Remove the broccoli stem, but rather than just cutting the broccoli into florets from the top, split the broccoli stems, and then pull apart the florets; this creates a lot less mess. Slice up the broccoli stems
– Once sausage is cooked, add the mustard greens and cook until wilted
– Add the broccoli and butter and cook until broccoli is tender, about 10 minutes

• If you’re not going to eat the ragu right away, hold off on adding the broccoli, or add the broccoli, but only cook it over the heat for 5 minutes