Tag kebabs

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!

Homage to “The Joy of Cooking”

1 comment By The Kitchen Whisperer Filed in General, News & Events Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , October 14th, 2008 @ 12:00 pm

Joy of CookingThe Joy of Cooking has been the quintessential kitchen reference for tens of millions home cooks, since it was first published in 1931. From tuna noodle casserole to pate maison, Joy covers a comprehensive slew of culinary endeavors rooted vaguely in 20th century American homemaker tradition.

The book’s first edition was self-published by Irma S. Rombauer, a struggling homemaker from St. Louis, who wrote the book to support her family after her husband’s death. Joy became immensely popular as an encyclopedia of tried-and-true recipes, textbook of cooking techniques (canning, pickling, butchering), and culinary primer for proper American dining.

We selected the 75th Anniversary Edition of Joy for our October PTC Cookbook Luncheon. Released in 2006, this latest revision was received with a bit of skepticism because of its restoration of original recipes including use of ready-made products like Cream of Mushroom soup, as well as use of “modern” appliances like the microwave.

On the exploratory menu for our monthly luncheon (see below for our descriptions and thoughts):

Vegetable Pot Pie with Cheddar Biscuit Crust – Made with a variety of meticulously peeled and chopped and individually sauteed winter root vegetables, Rosie’s main complaint was the many hours she spent preparing this dish. Overall, a very satisfying, heart-warming dish that could be pared down to just a couple varieties of vegetable for ease of cooking.

Pate Maison – A dramatic veal and chicken liver pate wrapped in bacon. While the bacon wrap is meant to be cut off after the smoky flavor is imparted, Crissy couldn’t bare slicing off all of the fatty goodness, and served it sliced alongside crusty baguette, dijon and cornichons. We loved the rustic, crumbly texture of the pate and agreed it was all-around was quite impressive a dish.

Tart Greens with Apples, Pecans and Buttermilk Honey Dressing – A simple salad, perfectly balanced and full of flavor. Christina tossed a tasty bowl of seasonal tart greens including endive, radicchio and arugula. The buttermilk honey dressing was surprisingly light, yet satisfying.

Cheese Soufflé – A classic French recipe, prone to “falling.” Bibby adeptly timed her masterpiece, so it was presented in fully poofed gloriousness. The creamy and rich center included a mix of Gruyere and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Bibby pumped up the flavor of the recipe with some Dijon mustard and lemon juice.

Tuna Noodle Casserole – A nostalgic favorite from almost everyone’s childhood, Lauren elected to make the Cream of Mushroom-based pasta bake. Eaters agreed the topping of buttered cracker crumbs and parmesean cheese “made the dish.” Alternative topping suggestions included canned potato sticks, cornflakes and breadcrumbs.

Gorgonzola Stuffed Chicken Breasts – Shanti had originally planned on a chicken piccata, but only had a cast-iron pan on-hand, deeming her cream sauce impossible. Instead, she seared up this juicy chicken dish – perfect for a weeknight dinner.

Herb Crusted Sirloin Kebabs with Tomato Basil Relish – New to cooking, Office Manager LeRoid tried his hand at kebabs. Most notably, the recipe lacked portions for the herbs, so LeRoid was left to his own tastebuds to decipher the perfect blend of herbs for the marinade. The directions were also missing basil entirely, so LeRoid instinctively mixed chopped leaves into the relish. We all agreed he did a great job winging it!

Stuffed Cabbage – Tanya had long been searching for a great stuffed cabbage recipe, and may have found it! Traditionally a very labor intensive dish, Tanya cleverly invited friends and family to partake in the rolling of the hearty meat-filled leaves. After being simmered in a well-spiced tomato sauce, the leaf parcels were fork-tender and infused with flavor.