Naturals

I'm still reeling from having just watched this video about an accomplished (and adorable) 5-year old with some amazing God-given, natural talent (not to mention having beautifully overcome more trials than most adults, let alone children the age of five).

Kyle Lograsso @ Yahoo! Video

And, while you might not recognize either my cute little golf prodigy or this guy who I'm about to introduce you to, in terms of raw, natural abilities, they both shine.

But in very different ways (what?! I promised I'd get back to food around these parts... so here we go!).

I've mentioned this other guy before... our family's master chef, Ben. He's been around, this is nothing new... he's always been the brains (and brawn, to be sure) behind all of the deliciousness that we are treated to in Penn Yan and he was also the 'hired help' at Chris' 30th birthday shindig, complete with... you guessed it, ribs.

I should stop lest I mislead you into thinking our chef is a one-dish man, though. He just has some things (ah-hem, ribs) perfected so it's hard us mortals of the kitchen to get past them.

Poor Ben can't spend more than 5 minutes with all of us before we are inquiring when he'll finally be opening a restaurant and (since he asked our opinions) naming items that 'absolutely must' be included on the menu. Sure he's never had a formal cooking lesson - but you wouldn't know it visiting his kitchen (or grill, for that matter). Our last visit to his local kitchen produced a meal worthy of royalty... pan-seared foie gras, sauteed duck breasts, and mushroom risotto, all paired with the perfect crisp white wine.

With that said, you can understand why this last time that we saw him, we got down to business... coming up with the perfect name for his restaurant - and an advertising campaign to boot.

I know I'm hedging bets pretty quickly but I think it's fair to say that you should keep an eye out for both of these guys. There's just something about hard-working, figure-it-out-yourself-types that gives me the confidence to know they could go the distance.

She Can Pick 'Em

"It's your birthday... it's your birthday.... "

Goofy lyrics aside, today really is her birthday. And there's no better way to celebrate our little hound's 6th year than to reminisce about one of her favorite places on Earth... Penn Yan. Admission: it's one of our favorite places too - the fact that Annabelle loves it is just our (now blown) cover.

Can you blame us?

The view out almost any window of our family's house is of the huge expanse of the lake, stretched out before us. And should we tire of the water, frequent games of Kubb and wiffle ball can be found on the field just adjacent.

There are numerous vineyards (although we, of course, have our favorites long since mapped out) within a 15 minute drive; and the quick but indulgent tastings are perfect for any infrequent moments of cloud cover.

And of course, the food. Oh the food. Dining-at-its-best up at the lake for this family doesn't mean visiting a fancy restaurant - rather, it involves buying our resident chef Ben his selection of entree and any condiments he might need to prepare it and stepping back as he works his magic. A select few of the rest of us run around pretending to sous-chef, which to us, means "making sure Ben is happy". Occasionally a batch of pretzels or garden fresh tomato bruschetta shows up but it's Ben's masterpieces that keep 'em coming back.

So here's to another year, Annabelle. And to you, Penn Yan... until we meet again.

A Real Boost

I like to sing but only when no one's listening. Do you know anyone like me? It's not really about the singing - but someone who is full of energy and confident of themselves when it's well, just them, but the second there are others around (hey, where'd you come from?!), it's all apologies so heavy you can see any confidence that had been there quickly draining away. I'll sing to my heart's content by myself but wouldn't be caught dead doing so in a room full of people (trust me, this is a good thing); insert the word "cook" in that same sentence, and that's how I feel about cooking and entertaining around 99% of the time.

"So you're saying there's a chance" (hope I quoted that correctly - I inherited the innate ability to misquote everything from my mother-so-dearest)

Enter this dish - it lives in that minuscule but crucial 1%. If you're at our house and I serve you something not showered with numerous comments on how I coulda-woulda-shoulda... you'll probably be about to dig into this Grilled Chicken and Strawberry Spinach Salad.

Grilled Chicken and Strawberry Spinach Salad

Marinated grilled chicken (see recipe below)
one large bunch of fresh spinach
1 pint fresh strawberries, washed and thinly sliced
Mrs. Barbin's dressing (see below)
crumbled blue cheese
mixed nuts (optional)

Marinated Grilled Chicken
3/8 c packed brown sugar
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
2 1/4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 1/4 TBSP Dijon mustard
2 1/4 TBSP lemon juice
1 1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 chicken breast halves

Mix first 8 ingredients together in sealable container and add chicken breast halves. Let the chicken marinate for at an hour or more. Grill chicken until done basting with remaining marinade. Off the grill, let the chicken breasts rest briefly before slicing on the bias.

Mrs. Barbin's Dressing
6 TBSP red wine vinegar
6 TBSP sugar
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pepper

Mix all ingredients together, whisking to thoroughly combine. Can make ahead and store in refrigerator; let come to room temperature for about 15 minutes and shake vigorously before serving.

Wash spinach and separate into equal portions on each of 4 entree-sized bowls or plates. Top with 1/4 of the sliced strawberries, grilled chicken, some blue cheese crumbles and the mixed nuts. Dress the salad and toss to evenly coat.

Sure, some might say that strawberry season is drawing to a close, but I plan on doing everything possible to make it last (and not just because it's been one of my favorites). And after trying this salad, I'm confident that you'll be joining me in the effort.

Pinky Swear

It seems that the "weather gods" are against us here in the DC-area (and yes, even our crops, plants and flowers are swamped at this point) as it continues to rain and be generally gloomy yet again this June day... (okay okay I might regret this in July or August when it's dry as a desert and hideously hot, I admit it)

So for now, the rain might stop me from actually being outside, but I dare anyone to try and keep me from dreaming.

Thus, in celebration (look who took her optimism pills today!) of one of the very few gloriously perfect-for-grilling-and-just-otherwise-being-outside days, here's to an upcoming weekend full of a couple more! (please, oh please!) If my wish is granted, I promise to spend every possible moment out on our deck, grilling whatever crosses my path. And if this light and fresh Grilled Cumin Chicken happens to be one of those - all the better!

*Oh! You like that wrought iron Fleur-de-lis trellis guy up there? Me, too. It was a birthday gift a while back so sadly, I'm clueless as to where to find others (let me know if you know!).

No Matter Where You Are

Nothing says grilling by the beach like grilled pork tenderloin... unless of course you're not at the beach, then it says "grilling by [wherever you are]".

We've done pork tenderloin 'on the barbie' before - and each time I'm more and more convinced that this meat is just made for the grill. Course I did like this non-grilled version a whole lot too... darn it, perhaps there are no conclusions to be drawn just yet. Pay no attention to my rambling and go fire up your grill.

Sadly, this past weekend didn't find us at the beach, so this was more of a "grilling on our deck" pork tenderloin... and while I'm not certain when we'll get to the beach next, something I do know is that we'll make this recipe once we're there.

Garlic Herb Grilled Pork Tenderloin
adapted from All Recipes

2 pork tenderloins
4 TBSP olive oil
3 cloves garlic: 2 chopped, 1 cut into 4 pieces
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 TBSP chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 TBSP salt
1 TBSP ground black pepper

Pour olive oil into casserole dish with cover. Add chopped garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper, and stir. Place tenderloins in dish and make sure the meat is coated well with the olive oil mixture. Marinate in the refrigerator at least 2 hours or overnight.

When ready to grill, cut 2-3 small slits in one side of each tenderloin and insert pieces of garlic. Prepare your grill for medium-high heat. Grill to a minimum internal temperature of 160 degrees.

Let the meat rest for about 5 minutes before slicing into medallions.

Press Release

Lots of very news-worthy events going on these days... it's hard to ignore the Olympics *or at least it is for us: Michael Phelps achieved the greatest individual performance in a single Olympics winning his 8th gold medal; and, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh won the first-ever second consecutive gold medal in Olympic beach volleyball while securing their 108th win in a row; meanwhile, in non-Olympic news, AP pre-season ranked #23 Wake Forest's season opens against Baylor August 28, both Republican and Democratic National Conventions are heating up and maybe even announcements of running mates (and by NO means is this me asking for any type of political debate), and last but not least, I won a cookbook!

Yes, this is newsworthy - not only because as everyone who wins something for the first time says... I never win anything in contests like these, but also because it's THIS cookbook!

Thanks SO much to Donna at Spatulas, Corkscrews, and Suitcases *cutest blog name ever! and The Taunton Press.

Last week, I had the good fortune of stumbling upon Donna's blog and of course all of her grilled pizzas caught my eye (so much so that last weekend in an inaugural effort, we grilled 6 different pizzas... did you know that certain blogs are searchable even via Blackberry; thanks to that nifty technology, I was able to access my favorite homemade dough recipe even though we were nowhere near a computer) so I quickly entered her contest to win this delicious-looking cookbook, Pizza on the Grill by Elizabeth Karmel and Bob Blumer! And now that we've officially entered into the world of pizza-grilling, I'm drooling even more in anticipation of all the recipes calling to me from underneath its covers. I still can't believe I won!!

In the spirit of all things grilled... I present to you an innovation in grilling corn! Ever grilled corn out of the husk and gotten really dry, burnt corn? Not if you marinate it like we did. *don't be scared of this method - try it once and you'll never go back, this eliminates the messy hassle of having to butter your corn once it's cooked!

"Marinated", Grilled Corn on the Cob
serves 8

1 c butter
1/4 c honey
1 tsp hot sauce
salt and pepper, to taste
8 ears of corn

Microwave first three ingredients in microwave-safe bowl until completely melted. In a large, sturdy plastic bag, pour melted marinade over all ears of cleaned corn and toss gently. Leave to "marinate" for at least an hour, or up to 3 hours. Grill all ears of corn over medium heat until tender, being careful to turn at even intervals to protect from burning.

Enjoying the Bounty

Thanks to our exciting first real farmers' market experience, the stage was set for our big Sunday night meal.

It must be said, if quickly, that Sunday nights have become one of the only nights (aside from entertaining) that I find the time to really put together a full meal for us, so they are eagerly awaited each week. This time, it seemed that our stock of frozen salmon cut into individual fillets and some deveined shrimp was just begging to be included in this weekend-ending fest.

Allrecipes was the winning source providing two great recipes for grilling our salmon and shrimp. I had all of the ingredients in the pantry (or in our herb garden), which undoubtedly made these recipes a cinch, so for once, I actually followed them to the letter... which leads me to think that I might just be heading back down the road of being a loyal recipe-follower. The marinade carmelized absolutely perfectly on the salmon and the mustardy shrimp marinade had a wonderful flavor; admittedly, a soy-brown sugar and mustard marinade on the same plate isn't conventional but we enjoyed it nonetheless.

Since I'd been adventurous with new recipes for our seafood entrees, my creativity waned in the preparation of our market bounty, my cute red potatoes.

This is a recipe that everyone probably knows in some form and is certainly not from a reputable source (except my head and palate), but I thought it might be helpful to record it somewhere... for posterity if nothing else. It seems, however, that there is delicious-ness in simplicity! Thank goodness for that.

Fresh-from-the-Market Red Potatoes (this is easily adaptable to your quantities so be flexible!)

Handful of medium to little red potatoes, cut into equal sized portions (no smaller than halved or quartered)
olive oil
2-3 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder (can substitute fresh, minced garlic)
kosher salt to taste
1/2 TBSP cold butter, cut in pieces

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Wash and scrub your potatoes carefully (so as to not scrub off the skin). Drizzle olive oil over your potatoes. Sprinkle chopped herbs, garlic powder and salt over potatoes and toss with your hands so all pieces are equally coated. Bake for 10 minutes and then quickly add pats of butter to the potatoes (will make a nice buttery skin on the potatoes) and bake for 15-20 more minutes until desired doneness.

Condo-style Grilling

So far, I think one of the themes of my adult life (post-college... am I really considered an adult?) is "do the best with what you have".

As I've mentioned before, I have about 6 pots arranged on my already miniature patio, so investing in any kind of "real" grill would have been a mistake. This means I rely pretty heavily on my George Foreman (great for paninis!), pan-searing, and my most recent toy, my grill pan. But, there are times when the flavor of a charcoal-grilled burger just can't be beat... and for these times, we break out the mini-Weber. Each attempt at grilling with this little guy is an adventure in and of itself.

My plan was to re-create the tasty burgers that Andrea and Chris had fed me a few weekends ago. Eating with them had been both delicious AND a great learning experience because Chris taught me all about using the internal temperatures of the meat to test for doneness; it must work because his burgers were perfectly cooked!! I left vowing to break out my thermometer the next time but first, I had to research what the appropriate temps were!

*Anyone adverse to grilling temperatures, try this chart for approximate cooking times!

Since the heat that my little grill produces (and how long it takes to get there) is unpredictable at best, we decided this time to build our own chimney starter. This, I found out, is a great tool to expedite bringing your charcoal up to the proper temperature. I had an old (large) coffee tin, newspaper, and charcoal, and Chris did the rest!

As for the hamburger recipe - as my record currently shows, I just can't leave a good recipe alone. In my defense, however, I am always a little worried that my meat will dry out in the grilling process so I added some finely minced onion and a dash or two or Worchestershire sauce, and then for good measure, threw in a TBSP or two of grated Parmesan cheese. I also didn't have fennel seed which I know some people don't like but in this recipe, it's a keeper. The bleu cheese "stuffed" in the middle of the hamburger patty is delicious and I'd say to put as much cheese in there as you possibly can; if you have someone who doesn't love the taste of bleu cheese, feel free to substitute with any good melting cheese you like!

*I always buy the lowest fat percentage ground beef that I can but I'm finding more and more than the lower the fat, the less flavor. I haven't decided if it's worth it or not... or if I can otherwise season the beef...is there a trick? Also, the lower fat beef has a tough time staying together, especially in a recipe like this so be sure and refrigerate your burgers until they are very cold and firmly formed.
We were both full of yummy hamburgers by the end of the meal so my only comment would be to stuff that bad-boy full of cheese... there's never enough!!

*THANKS Andrea and Chris, for my first taste of a stuffed burger and lesson on smarter and safer cooking!

Summer's Here!

My new "find" in the cooking and food world... thanks to Giada and my friend, Andrea, is grilled fruit!

Tonight I was motivated by 3 things to break out my new circular grill pan (thanks, Andrea!!!).

1) Giada's Grillin' & Chillin' episode that I saw while working out yesterday
2) My brand new grill pan
3) Delicious fresh summer fruit, like strawberries, on sale and just begging to come home with me

After selecting your favorite fresh fruit (strawberries and bananas are great!), the "recipe" is simple and produces results both delicious and with endless possibilities! Tonight, I just quickly cleaned, hulled, and halved a few strawberries, tossed them with about 1 1/2 TBSP of sugar, and poured them onto my grill pan on medium heat. About 3-5 minutes later (depending on how much fruit you start with), the strawberries will start to carmelize and sizzle. Turn them, if necessary, and cook for another minute or two and then remove from the grill.

I'm going to try Giada's complete recipe this weekend... she pours a simple syrup with mint over both the bananas and strawberries, but tonight we just ate the grilled fruit plain. For another easy and pretty dessert, try your grilled fruit over vanilla ice cream.

However you prepare it, you just can't beat fresh summer fruit!