Tag grilling

Parties That Cook’s Top Ten Summer Entrée Recipes: The Grilling Season

0 comments By The Kitchen Whisperer Filed in Entertaining, Menus & Recipes Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , June 21st, 2012 @ 11:14 am

Now that you’ve read (and maybe even cooked your way through) Parties That Cook’s Top Ten Summer Appetizers, we thought we’d provide some great entrée recipes to give your grill a work out. We compiled a list of our Ten Best Summer Entrée Recipes, and are challenging you to try as many as you can! Yes, feel free to go all “America’s Test Kitchen” on these bad boys. You’ve only got so much time until your Fourth of July bash!

As you can probably tell, we sure love our meat. Luckily, we’ve got an arsenal of vegetarian alternatives for most of these dishes, and they can be found in action at our corporate team building events. We snuck in a salad recipe below, but if you’d like to see another vegetarian recipe listed, let us know!

Balsamic-Marinated Grilled Skirt Steak with Herbed Bread Crumbs
We can’t think of any better way to start out the summer than fresh grilled steak! Pull out your grill and throw on this juicy cut of meat. The balsamic marinade takes this steak to a whole new level!

Chicken Cooked under a Brick with Preserved Lemons, Garlic, and Herbs
We’re bringing you chicken like you’ve never tasted — or prepared. This chicken is stuffed with minced garlic, olives, cubed preserved lemons, and a special blend of herbs before being grilled — literally under a brick!

Cinnamon and Coriander Spiced Skirt Steak
Spice up the average steak by introducing a delicious rub. This blend, with complete with cumin, black peppercorn, and cinnamon, is sure to put the “kick” in your next kick-back.

Crispy Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken Stuffed with Fontina and Basil
Prosciutto and chicken? In the same dish? YES. This meat-lover’s dream come true is loaded with flavor. You can take Chicken breast beyond the boring when you wrap it up with some fresh prosciutto. But wait, there’s more! Before you wrap these puppies up you stuff them with Fontina cheese (yum!).

Grilled Chicken Skewers with Lemons and Salsa Verde
We love skewers for lazy summer days and know you’ll enjoy these grilled chicken skewers as much as we do! The super fresh, super simple Salsa Verde adds the perfect, light flavor. When looking for a quick and easy summer meal, these skewers do the trick! Feel free to substitute your favorite vegetables for the chicken and enjoy  – veggie style!

Lamb T-bone steaks with Pistachio-Herb Crust
Made with T-bone steaks or with loin chops, this recipe screams summer. We use pistachios to give these steaks a special taste and texture.

Latin Spice-Rubbed Chicken with Chimichurri Sauce
This pullus (that’s Latin for chicken! Aren’t you impressed? Okay, I Googled it…) is rubbed in a delicious spice blend including coriander, cumin, and hot red pepper flakes. Heat up your summer in every way – this entree is sure to be a “hot item” at your next summer party!

Sear-Roasted Salmon Filets with Ginger-Lime Sauce
If you’re a seafood fan, you will love our Salmon Filets! From the crispy, seared crust, to the flaky center and tangy ginger-lime sauce, this recipe is a winner. Looking for a pairing dish? Try a Greek Salad for lunch or an herb risotto for dinner.

Soy-Marinated Flank Steak with Cilantro Sesame Pesto
Okay, I promise this is the LAST steak recipe on the list. We love our beef, and there are just so many ways to prepare, season, and flavor it! Marinated in a delicious soy sauce (arguably the best way to prep steak), the cilantro sesame pesto is arguably the perfect sauce to complete the dish.

Spice-Crusted Chicken Kebabs with Harissa-Yogurt Sauce
Kebabs. Who doesn’t love the versatility and complete customizability of skewered foods? Salmon makes a delicious substitute if you’re in the mood for seafood. In either case, the zesty Harissa-Yogurt Sauce is great for dipping. You may have just found your new go-to dipping sauce! Be sure to check back for our quick video tip on the easiest way to zest citrus!

Parties That Cook Wants to See Your Grill: 20 Unconventional Summer Grilling Ideas

0 comments By The Kitchen Whisperer Filed in Entertaining, General, Menus & Recipes Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , June 29th, 2011 @ 1:56 pm

If you’re anything like us, your grill had been fired up and raring to go since the first hint of summer. In case you’ve run out of normal/edible/safe things to throw on the grill, this blog is for you. We’ve rounded up a mighty fine list of delicious grill-able foods that DOES NOT INCLUDE burgers and hot dogs. Not that there’s anything wrong with conventional… Have some fun experimenting with these great grilling ideas before and after the 4th of July, and let us know how it goes!

APPETIZERS:
-Cheese: Unless going for a grilled cheese sandwich, we’d recommend grilling Halloumi, a cheese made from a mixture of goat and sheep’s milk (although some halloumi can be bought that also contains cow’s milk). It has a high melting point, so it can stand up to the grilling test!

-Fava Beans: Whatever you season these little guys with, will end up sticking to your fingers in the most delicious way. The pods get a bit charred, but become really easy to open. Open the pods and slip the beans out, pinching off the skin with your fingernail. Make sure the grill isn’t too hot, or the pods will char before the beans have time to steam!

-Figs: Cut in half before placing on the grill. Some like to toss in balsamic vinegar first, others prefer feta and basil. Check out this GrillinFools method (used on pears) for a mouthwatering prosciutto wrapped skewers with cheese!

-Olives: Marinate pitted olives before sliding on a skewer and grilling about 1min per side! It’s that easy!

-Nuts: Simple spiced and smoked nuts (like almonds) should be grilled in foil with low heat coals (maybe after grilling an entrée) to avoid burning the nuts. We recently received a tip from a cookie expert, recommending we try starting cookies (like these turtle cookies) on the grill, allowing for the nuts to get that smoked flavor, then finishing in the oven. Great idea!

-Avocado: Cut in half, remove the pit and brush the cut side with a teeny bit of oil. Grill (cut-side down) for a few minutes. Stuff as desired, and enjoy! You can also use grilled avocados to make a delicious guacamole!

-Tomatillos: Cut in halves and grill (cut-side down) until browned on the bottom, then flip. Remove when soft all the way through. Great for salsa with a smoky flavor or a guacamole like this one!

SALADS:
-Romaine Lettuce: It’s not as crazy as it sounds! Dress with oil and balsamic vinegar, then char over a flame…Yum!

– Radicchio: Cut the head of radicchio into 6 wedges before you drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill radicchio over moderately low flame on each side, until just charred. Remove and add balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper as needed.

– Endive: Paired with radicchio, makes a great salad! Slice off the bottom of the endive, cutting away the tough, woody part of the bottom. Make sure to leave enough of the base for the endive leaves to stay connected! Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, then put the endives on the grill, cut side-down. Grill until the edges are well browned and curled. Remove and add balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper as needed.

-Watermelon: Yowza! This simple Claire Robinson (Food Network) recipe for a Grilled Watermelon Salad sounds too good to pass up!

SIDES:
-Polenta: A great side to many a picnic or potluck dish, brush with a little olive oil and earn those grill marks!

-Quesadillas: No microwave allowed! We’ll take a crispy, perfectly toasted tortilla over a flimsy one any day!

-Artichokes: Steam the artichokes and cut in half (or quarters) before grilling. Trying to grill a whole artichoke raw will result in an artichoke that is charred on the outside and raw on the inside

ENTREES:

-Pizza: Due to the quick- grilling nature of this dish, these tips and tricks from a Serious Eats – Slice article will sure come in handy!

-Oysters: Scrub the oyster shells under cold running water with a brush. Live oysters will be tightly clamped shut, or will clamp shut when tapped. Discard any open shells, as the oyster is dead and not edible. Check out this great Barbequed Oyster Recipe!

-Herbs: Wrapped in foil, used as a skewer (make sure to use woody herbs, like rosemary), placed underneath meat on the grill, or placed straight on mellow coals with the lid closed – there’s no wrong way to infuse flavor into your grilling meats! The Herb Companion’s Barbra Annino even put together this helpful guide to herb-meat pairings!

DESSERTS:

-Peaches: It’s best to start with peaches that are pretty firm. Too ripe, and they’ll fall apart on the grill! Grilled peaches are great with a little balsamic vinegar and brown sugar, or with yogurt and honey, OR go all the way and add vanilla ice cream. Yum!

-Bananas: Great on the grill when sliced lengthwise down the middle!

-Angel Food Cake/Pound Cake: Pretty much speaks for itself. Dare we suggest adding the grilled peaches to create a masterpiece?