Tag Archives: Summer

Five-Herb Grilled Chicken

24 Aug

John and I wanted to get together for a potluck fun summer dinner in mid-June. I agreed to make appetizers and bring the meat. Since John doesn’t have a grill, I wanted to grill something so we can all have a summer taste.

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I saw this recipe in Food and Wine and knew it was the perfect thing right away. It had all of my requirements for a perfect recipe – simple and fresh ingredients, simple steps, and delicious, clean taste.

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This recipe is also perfect because almost all of the ingredients come from my garden! Nothing like eating REALLY local 🙂

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It couldn’t be easier than putting everything into the food processor and pressing “on”. It came together in NO time at all.

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The chicken is definitely a bit off-putting all bright green…..It looks a bit funky.

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The aioli tastes delicious accompanying the chicken. I recommend making a bit more than the recipe calls for since everyone will want lots of it.  IMG_1469

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This is really amazing. It tastes perfectly bright and fresh. It would pair great with a grain salad and some sliced red tomatoes with some balsamic on the side to make a really healthy, light summer dinner.

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Okay. Go outside to your herb garden and collect all the ingredients and make this chicken NOW for your next BBQ or get-together. This stuff is off the HOOK!!!!! Everyone will want more. Okay – just a couple more pics first……this recipe is worth it.

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After making this 3 times this summer, I can DEFINITELY say you will adore this chicken like we do.

Five-Herb Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:

  • Three 3.5-4 pound bone-in chicken parts (thighs, legs, breasts, etc)
  • ½ cup packed flat-leaf parsley
  • ½ cup packed basil leaves
  • ½ cup snipped chives
  • 2 tblsp minced jalapeno
  • 1 tblsp minced thyme
  • 1 tblsp minced rosemary
  • 1 tblsp minced garlic
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1.5 tblsp fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Using a sharp knife, score each piece of chicken a couple times through the skin so that the marinade can penetrate. Put chicken in a large bowl and set aside.

In a food processor, combine the parsley, basil, chives, rosemary, jalapeno, thyme, garlic, and 1 tblsp salt. Pulse until the herbs are finely chopped. With the machine on, add the 1 cup of olive oil in a steady stream.

Pour all but ½ cup of the marinade over the chicken and turn to coat. Rub the marinade into the gashes of the chicken. Refrigerate the chicken and marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight (I prefer to marinate overnight for maximum flavor).

Add the mayonnaise and lemon juice to the remaining marinade in the processor and pulse until bright green. Scrape the green aioli into a small bowl and refrigerate.

When chicken is marinated and you are ready to make dinner, light a grill and oil the grates. Grill the chicken over medium heat, turning occasionally until lightly charred and an instant-read thermometer reads about 168 – about 35 minutes.

If you don’t have a grill or prefer not to grill, you can also preheat the broiler in your oven and set a rack in the lower third of the oven. Then arrange the chicken skin-side up on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil for about 40 minutes, turning occasionally.

*Note – You can use boneless and/or boneless/skinless chicken as well – but the cooking time will be much less (about 12 minutes).

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Wheatberry Salad

11 Aug

Again, tasked with the “can you bring a side dish?” request early in July, I decided to try a wheatberry dish. I am always on the hunt for delicious, fresh, and HEALTHY side dishes for the summertime when the veggies are so plentiful!

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What is a wheatberry? A wheatberry is almost the whole kernel of wheat and are added to salads or served as a side dish along with corn in some countries.

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They are a great source of protein, fiber, and vitamins. I love putting them in my salad because they give a nice lil crunch.

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This recipe couldn’t be simpler: Cook your wheatberries, chop your veggies, and put together the dressing at the end and pour over top. I also threw in some more veggies than the recipe called for – I couldn’t resist putting in some red and orange pepper to give it some more color and crunch.

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This salad packs a light taste with a lot of crunch and TONS of healthiness!!! Everyone loved it! It was the perfect accompaniment to our summer dinner and would go great with burgers or any type of grilled meat.

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Wheatberry Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups hard wheat berries
  • 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
  • 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup tart dried cherries, chopped
  • 1 scallion, white and green parts, chopped
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley leaves
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

In a large pot combine the wheat berries and enough water to come 2 inches over the wheat berries. Bring to a boil and cook uncovered for 1 hour, or until tender. Drain and let cool.

Toast the walnuts in a medium dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.

Chop all veggies and parsley.

In a large bowl, combine the wheat berries, walnuts, celery, dried cherries, scallions, parsley, olive oil and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

(Calories 360; Total Fat 17 g; (Sat Fat 2 g, Mono Fat 6 g, Poly Fat 8 g) ; Protein 9 g; Carb 46 g; Fiber 8 g; Cholesterol 0 mg; Sodium 15 mg. Excellent source of: Fiber, Vitamin K, Manganese. Good source of: Protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Copper, Iron)

Patio Picnic Burgers

10 Aug

This is an old family favorite. My mom’s been making these un-burger burgers since before I was born. I think it was in old cookbooks from the 60s and 70s. I dont even know and it doesnt matter.

Ingredients

What I know is these burgers are amazing. Everyone always raves over them. Robbb doubted me when I told him I was making this. As soon as he had it, he asked me to make it again within the week!

Assembled sandwich

I made them recently for my Supper Club dinner. As I said in that entry, my mom made them for my 8th grade graduation party and then took a pic of me eating one mid-bite…..oy!

Cheese on top – not mixed through

These “burgers” are, in fact, NOT burgers. They are more of a loose meat pseudo-sort of cheesesteak on a roll. And I use my own ground meat as an added flavor-boost.

Just out of the oven

I’m not sure I can accurately describe the taste. The evaporated milk makes the meat a smidge creamy, but yet the spicy mustard and hot sauce add a twang to it. And then you mix the meat with pickles and american cheese and tomatoes….so there is a fabulous pickle-cheese flavor going on.

Here is another unburger-burger weird factoid: you dont need any condiments. The meat mixture has all the vegetable fixins and there is mustard and ketchup in the meat and it doesnt beg for any additional condiments.

Yum

I just made them again for dinner tonight. I switched up the bun a bit and this time mixed the cheese, pickles, and tomatoes into the meat – as the directions say. And it was just awesome. I served it immediately – I didnt warm it in the oven this time.

Ready to take a bite

Holy smokes! Try this for your next outdoor get-together!

Patio Picnic Burgers

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound ground meat
  • ¼ cup chopped onion
  • ¼ cup chopped green pepper
  • ¼ cup ketchup
  • 1 tblsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tblsp hot mustard
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • Few drops of hot pepper sauce
  • ½ cup evaporated milk
  • 8 french rolls (or whatever shape/size you like)
  • 1 cup grated American cheese
  • ¼ cup dill pickles, diced
  • 1 medium tomato, diced

Directions:

Combine meat, onion, green pepper, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt, pepper, hot pepper sauce, and evaporated milk in skillet. Mix well and cook until beef is browned. Drain off excess fat.

Slice individual rolls and scoop out bread on inside.

Combine American cheese, dill pickles, and tomato with meat mixture. Spoon into rolls, packing well, but lightly. Close up roll and wrap in foil. Refrigerate until serving time. Before serving, place on grill or in oven to heat up thoroughly (oven is best). Or, just serve warm!

Supper Club – Summer Picnic!

5 Aug

This month’s Supper Club theme was “Summer Picnic” and it was my turn to host. We decided that it would be best to have the physical dinner at my parent’s house so we can have a pool day and also really set the stage for a summer picnic.

Me and Jeff enjoying the pool

Jeff chillin on the patio

We all got to the house early in the day and quickly got ourselves into the pool since it was a 96 degree sunny day. Much later on, my brother Chris and his wife Pam came over to join us! We were many Sweet Tea Vodka Lemonade’s in at that point, so dinner was quite late. Thankfully there was minimal prep – I was able to prepare everything the night before and that morning.

I thought long and hard about my menu. I wanted something fun, but light and fresh…..I also wanted to showcase some family recipes (found in our family cookbook). I was able to combine everything and come up with an awesome meal.

Early in the day we grilled up some quesadillas (AKA “dillas”). These are a fun snack that my brother and sisterinlaw, Pat and Julie, bring to summer pooldays. They are great because they taste super fresh, are customizably spicy, and they go on the grill. Who doesnt love dillas??

Dillas on the grill

We started off the meal with Watermelon Gazpacho. My friend, Shannon, made this for our girls night last month. It was SO refreshing and tasty….I dont have to mention how fresh it is. It is so easy to make, too! Everyone remarked at how different and delicious it was. The crumble of feta on top totally pulls all the flavors together.

Watermelon Gazpacho with Feta Crumble

The main course consisted of: Patio Picnic Burgers, Jerry’s Baked Beans, and Heirloom Tomato Pie.

What are “Patio Picnic Burgers”? They are an old old family recipe that our family has been crazy about for years. It was always a special treat to have them in the summer. I remember having them for my 8th grade graduation party and my mom took a pic of me eating one mid-bite…..attractive.

Before being baked together

But what IS it, you ask? It’s not a burger, per se. Essentially, it’s ground beef sauteed with a few ingredients, then mixed with pickles, tomatoes, and cheese and scooped into a roll and then baked in the oven. Robbbb said it was sort of similar to how a cheesesteak tastes, in a way. I dont know that I agree – but I cant really explain it any other way. You just have to try them.

Finished Patio Picnic Burger

Jerry’s Baked Beans are also a family treat. I believe he got the recipe from his ex-wife (shhhh!) and he’s been making it ever since. They are delicious – the perfect amout of sweet and salty. Everyone loves them.

Beans, beans…..you fill in the rest

My Heirloom Tomato Pie…..I dont know where to start with this masterpiece of a recipe that I pulled out of Food Network Magazine last summer. I made it last summer for a family get-together on a poolday and everyone raved about it. This time I used all heirloom and regular tomatoes from my garden and also from my friends at Skippack Creek Farm (best tasting tomatoes ever). There is manchego cheese, herbs, tomato, and cornmeal crust…..need I say more?

Beautiful…..just beautiful

Slice of Tomato Pie

For dessert, I did another old family favorite: Ice Cream Pie! It’s just as simple as it sounds. It doesnt matter though – everyone always loves it!

Ice cream pie

Slice of ice cream

To accompany the meal, I made my friend Alex’s Sangria. He swore to me that it’s the best homemade sangria around and I think he might be right. It was the bomb. Literally.

Down one, one to go

John took a shower with his sangria

As always…..I will be posting recipes for everything shortly. And now it’s John’s turn for Thai next month!

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