I wish I had some right now...

Well, Thanksgiving weekend has come and gone leaving me with great memories, a slight hangover, lots of leftovers, and the H1N1 virus. Yes, I have the plague. Okay, maybe not the plague, but it sure feels like it.

I am going to make this short and sweet since I need to get myself back to the couch. I have been wanting to make homemade macaroni and cheese for quite a while now, and the only thing stopping me was not wanting to know the exact quantities of butter and cheese it contained. After I saw Ina Garten's recipe though, I said 'screw it, I'm makin mac and cheese'.

I made a few edits as usual, eliminating the tomatoes (who needs vegetables right?) and added grilled chicken and mushrooms. It was so decadent and delicious, and I could really go for some right now. This made two pans of mac and cheese, and it actually froze quite well.

If you have been thinking about making homemade macaroni and cheese, do it, do it now. You will not regret it, at least not until you get the scale out. Half a pan of macaroni and cheese in one sitting is considered moderation right?

Macaroni and Cheese with Grilled Chicken and Mushrooms

adapted from Ina Garten's Macaroni and Cheese

2 Chicken breast halves

1 lb mushrooms, diced

Olive oil

1 lb cavatappi pasta

1 quart milk

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided

1/2 cup all purpose flour

12 ounces grated gruyere cheese

8 ounces grated cheddar cheese

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and grill over medium heat until cooked through. Let the chicken cool, dice small, and set aside.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat and add mushrooms. Saute until cooked through, and slightly crisped, about 12-15 minutes. Set aside to let cool.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, add the pasta and cook according to directions on package, 6-8 minutes. Drain completely.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan being careful not to boil it. Melt 6 tablespoons of the butter in a large pot over low heat. Add the flour and whisk continuously for about two minutes.

Add the milk slowly, whisking until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat and add the cheese, 1 tablespoon salt, the pepper, and the nutmeg.

Look at all that cheese....mmmm.

Add drained pasta, chicken, and mushrooms and stir to coat.

Pour mixture into one large (3 quart) baking dish or two smaller ones (1-2 quarts). Melt the remaining two tablespoons of butter and combine with the breadcrumbs and parmesean cheese. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the macaroni and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top is brown and bubbly.

There is nothing better than homemade mac and cheese. This has to be in my top five favorite foods EVER, please give it a try. Here's hoping none of you get the flu this winter, but if you do, just make some mac and cheese and settle in on the couch.

Goodbye Summer...

Well it looks like fall is here to stay. As much as I love the season, I just am not ready for it this year. I feel like summer was here for about two weeks and then the leaves started changing. Oh well, hopefully there is still time to get one last camping trip in before the snow comes.

I figure this is the time to showcase what was probably some of the best 'summer food' I had this year. I can take no credit, for it was served to me by my parents while I was home mooching off of them after I got laid-off. Juicy Lucy Hamburgers, Grilled Deconstructed Caesar Salad, and Tomato, Basil, and Feta Salad, will forever be in my brain when I think of waning days of warm weather. The wonderfully fresh ingredients straight from the farmers market, the grill smoking in the back yard, and a bottle of wine (or three) with the people I love; what a great way to wrap up the summer.

This bottle in particular was the last of the bottles brought home from our trip to Italy.

Since my parents hold these recipes, and I had no part in cooking them (I don't even know what was in half of them) I will simply do my best to describe the photos. All three of these dishes are pretty basic actually, made from simple fresh ingredients, combined to make something exceptional. I wont give away their secrets, you can look for the recipes someday in the Helgerson/Boynton Cookbook, coming to a store near you (you guys almost done with that??).

Juicy Lucys

Basically a Juicy Lucy is a hamburger STUFFED with cheeses of your choosing (and I mean stuffed, I think mom put 3 or 4 kinds of cheeses inside). This is thrown on the grill and stacked high with fresh tomatoes, lettuce, ketchup, mustard, mayo, and whatever else floats your boat.

This was easily one of the best hamburgers I have ever had, and my god was it HUGE. Look at the cheese oozing out of the center. It's hard to look away right?

Tomato, Feta, and Basil Salad

I am just starting to be able to eat raw tomatoes. I was a very picky child, and as I am getting older and getting into cooking, I have been choosing various foods that I didn't really like growing up, and then working towards enjoying them, and eventually loving them. I am definitely well on my way to loving raw tomatoes, and this salad was a key player in that process. A mixture of yellow heirloom tomatoes from my uncle in southern Minnesota, and some gorgeous red heirloom tomatoes that are thriving in pots out on the driveway at my parents house, some fresh basil, herbed feta, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

Summer perfection.

Deconstructed Grilled Caesar Salad

This is probably my favorite salad of all time. Yes it is that good. Last time I asked my Dad for the Caesar dressing recipe, he just gave me a list of ingredients, no measurements whatsoever. A little trial and error was needed, but if you have never tried homemade Caesar dressing before do it now. Please, you will thank me later. Mayonnaise, crushed garlic, smushed anchovy (yes that is the correct culinary term), lemon juice, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire, white wine vinegar, and cracked black pepper. That's all it takes to have the most heavenly Caesar dressing you have ever tasted.

To elevate this salad even more, the heads of romaine are left intact, sliced in half, brushed with olive oil and grilled just for a minute to char the outside, while leaving the innards cool and crisp.

Instead of croutons, there is grilled garlic bread.

Last but not least, for the brave eaters: a whole anchovy splayed on top. Add a little (or a lot) of freshly grated Parmiginao Reggiano and I think you'll find that deconstructionism never tasted so good.

Hope your end of summer eating was as enjoyable as mine. Time to get out the pumpkin lights. :-)

A Tale of Two Pizzas

My first foray into grilled pizzas had it's ups and downs. After watching Micheal Chiarello easily slide his perfect pizza doughs on and off the grill grates, I thought 'I can do that, it doesn't look that hard'. Maybe someday I will learn that Mr. Chiarello tends to get me into trouble in the kitchen. (see the great gnocchi battle of 2008) Okay it wasn't all bad, and I think the next go around will be perfection, I just need to work out a few kinks.

The first dough to go onto the grill bubbled like crazy, and then once it was turned over the bubbles were so big, well, lets say they 'charred' (that's the grill-masters' way of saying it burned, without actually admitting fault). Everything seems to turn out better on the second try. They say you should always throw away your first crepe, your first pancake, but I didn't think I could spare an entire pizza dough the same way. So, I kept the 'charred' dough and went ahead. The second crust was beautiful, which is why I only took pictures of that one. Editing is GREAT.

Toppings are endless, and the method I used for making these allowed me to prepare all the topping ahead of time, and then just rewarm on the grill. One of the topping combinations was amazing, one of them not so much, but here is what I learned about making pizzas on the grill:

1. Do not use too high of heat, you will get crazy bubbles and burned edges. (if you are using charcoal I would recommend spreading one single layer of coals all over the bottom grate, and set your dampers so that you are over a medium heat)

2. Do not oil your dough too much, the heat will smoke the oil, turning your dough gray. This is NOT pretty. It won't ruin your pizza, but it will not enhance the flavor either.

3. Do not use a cheese that only tastes good when it is brown and bubbly. If you want brown and bubbly cheese, you may want to invest in a pizza stone so you can get your grill heat VERY high and not burn your dough (or finish it under your broiler). Hard cheeses and fresh mozzarella are good choices. Fontina....not so much (it kind of looked like snot, but more on that later).

4. Do grill toppings separately, this just adds to the deliciousness of the pizza.

5. Do not overload your pizzas with toppings, they will get very hard to maneuver, as the crust can be very fragile.

6. Use toppings that just need to be warmed briefly, in other words cook all your raw toppings ahead of time.

7. Use a sturdy dough recipe, one that calls for high gluten bread flour, or a similar additive.

8. Have fun with your flavor combinations, and don't be afraid to mess it up...maybe make some extra dough just in case though.

Pizza Dough

From Smitten Kitchen

My notes in green

Smitten kitchen is one of my favorite food blogs, and I often turn to it to get great recipes, especially for the basics (bread dough, pasta, pizza etc.). If you haven't checked her out yet, do it, she has awesome recipes and great photography. This dough worked really well, as it wasn't too delicate to throw around on the grill.

1 1/2 cups flour - I used my typical All-Purpose with added Vital Wheat Gluten combination

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast

1/2 cup lukewarm water

1 tablespoon olive oil

Mix all dry ingredients, including the yeast, in a large mixing bowl. You can also start this in the food processor with the dough blade if you wish. Add the water and olive oil and mix until it starts to form a ball. Turn the shaggy mess out onto a floured surface, and knead until everything combines into a nice clean ball, just a minute or two.

Lightly oil the mixing bowl -a cooking spray such as Pam works well for this- and place the dough in, turning it around a few times so all sides of the dough are oiled as well. Cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise for and hour or two, or until it has doubled in size.

Dump it out onto a well floured surface and gently press the air out of the dough. Fold the piece into a basic ball shape and let it sit under plastic wrap for another 20 minutes.

At this point, the dough is ready to be rolled out and grilled up. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out until it is about 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick.

Goat Cheese, Zucchini, and Prosciutto Pizza

1-2 medium zucchini or summer squash, sliced very thinly on a mandolin

1 package of prosciutto, cut into thin strips

1 4 oz. package of goat cheese

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon fresh minced thyme

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Pepita Pesto, Mushroom, and Fontina Pizza

About 3/4 cup peptia pesto (you can use any pesto, homemade or jarred)

1 package button mushrooms, sliced thinly

3/4 cup shredded fontina cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

While the dough was on its final 20-minute rise, I fired up the my trusty Weber. I tossed the zucchini and squash with some olive oil and salt and pepper, and grilled over high heat until just cooked through. This only takes a few minutes if the slices are very thin.

I also sauteed the prosciutto and the mushrooms separately until crisped and cooked through.

Mix the lemon juice, thyme, and goat cheese in a small bowl and set aside.

Lightly oil the pizza dough on one side, and moving gently and quickly, place the dough oiled-side down on the hot grates, and immediately oil the top side. It will probably start to bubble up and as soon as it starts to set, you can move it around a bit so that it doesn't burn in any spot.

Flip the dough over once the first side is nice and brown. This should only take 3-4 minutes on each side until the dough is fully cooked. (I obviously made 2 doughs, so I repeated this process)

I brought the doughs inside to where all my ingredients were ready and waiting to be assembled.

On the first pizza, I spread the goat cheese mixture thinly all over the crust, laid on the grilled zucchini strips and the prosciutto, and sprinkled the top with Parmesan cheese.

Onto the second pizza went the pesto, then the mushrooms, the fontina, and lastly the Parmesan.

Each of these pizzas went back onto the covered grill over low heat until all the ingredients were heated up and the cheese was melted, about 10 minutes.

The goat cheese pizza was divine. It was salty, fresh, and creamy. I would make it again as-is in a heartbeat. The pesto/mushroom pizza I would make again, but with many changes. I would add another component, something a bit sweet to offset the bitter pesto. I would also finish it under the broiler to get the cheese all brown and bubbly, instead of greasy and gooey like it turned out.

There were many lessons learned about pizzas making, and now that it is turning into autumn, I am looking forward to testing out my new skills with the coming fall produce.

Happy first day of Fall, may your week be filled with changing leaves, pumpkins, and cinnamon-flavored everything.

Grilled Chicken Quesadillas

Confession: I LOVE Mexican food. I could probably eat it every single day (sometimes I do) and have been known to take down an entire jar of salsa in one sitting. This love is also shared by my boyfriend, Steve, and so when deciding what to grill one night, he suggested quesadillas.

At first I thought that sounded a little tricky, I have enough trouble keeping the cheese inside the tortilla when I'm busting quesadillas out on my George Foreman. But then I thought of spicy grilled chicken sandwiched between two charred crispy corn tortillas smothered with smokey cheese, and I was in.

This is a great weeknight dinner, it came together pretty quickly with just a one-hour marinade for the chicken. We grilled the chicken with some onions and bell peppers first, then assembled the quesadillas and threw them back onto the grill. The combinations are endless, but whatever you put inside, it beats any quesadilla made in the oven or on your Foreman any day.

Grilled Chicken Quesadillas
(makes 4-6 medium sized quesadillas depending on how much filling you use)

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Marinade
2-3 Tablespoons adobo sauce (from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo, reserve the rest for later use, or freeze)
juice of one lime
2-3 cloves garlic - minced
handful of cilantro - chopped
salt and pepper
Olive oil (just enough to thin out sauce enough to coat chicken, probably 1/4 cup or less)

8-12 Corn tortillas
Cheese (I used one package of Mexican blend shredded cheese, because that is what was on sale)
Cilantro Leaves (about 1/2 cup)
Bell Pepper
Red Onion
Olive oil (to brush the tortillas with)

Put chicken breasts and marinade ingredients into ziploc bag and mush it around to coat. Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour while you prep the rest of the meal.

Pre-heat your grill for medium-high direct heat.

Chop the bell pepper in half or quarters and the onion into thick rings. If you keep the pieces big enough you can put them directly on the grill. If you have a veggie basket, feel free to chop the veggies smaller. Toss with olive oil and salt and pepper.

Grill the chicken for 20-30 minutes (depending on the size of your chicken breasts) until no longer pink in the center. When the chicken is just about done, throw the veggies on over direct heat until cooked through. Remove from grill and put the cover back on the grill.

Let the chicken and veggies cool just enough to handle, then slice them thin. Assemble the quesadillas with cheese, chicken, cilantro leave, and veggies (and whatever else you feel like throwing on there).

I try to make sure my first and last layers are both cheese, so that it melts and traps all the meats and veggies inside. the tortillas, reducing your chances of spillage.

Once your quesadillas are assembled, brush the top tortilla with olive oil. This will help it to not stick to the grill, and also help it crisp up very nicely.

Take the assembled quesadillas out to the grill, and, moving quickly and gently, flip your quesadillas onto the grill using two hands so that the oiled side is down. The faster you go, the less time the fillings have to fly out. It has something to do with gravity I'm sure but let's not get into that here. Brush the tops with olive oil, and after 2-3 minutes flip the quesadillas over using a large spatula, again do this quickly. The cheese should now be metled so they should be a bit more cohesive and easier to manuver.

When the bottom is crisped up and the cheese is fully melted take them off the grill and let them rest for a minute or two to let the cheese cool a bit.

Cut into quarters and serve with salsa, sour cream, hot sauce, and any other fixings you see fit.

Ribs, Potatoes, and a Power Outage

And the cabin fun continues.

Way back in February, at the last Cabin weekend, my friend's husband declared that he wanted ribs at the summer cabin weekend. Being that I am the one usually in charge of the big dinner at said cabin weekends, I was the one to make his decree a reality.

I knew exactly what I was going to make, My Dad's Ribs. My parents are exceptional cooks, and my Dad is a master at his grill. He has been perfecting his rib strategy for years and I figured it was time for me to learn how to make them myself, and learn from the best. (I promise I am not just sucking up so they will cook me dinner when they come to visit in two weeks, I swear)

After a few email exchanges of recipes, a few phone calls containing conversations such as:

'well how much mustard powder do I use for 5 racks of ribs?'
'I don't know, whatever looks right'

I had my plan, and a fairly vague recipe. I also had to tell myself to trust my instincts and to just go with it. So I went.

My Dad says that he got the original recipe form an article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper about a decade ago and has been changing and tweaking it ever since, therefore I have no clue how close the current recipe is to the original. What I do know is that it is the perfect mix of sticky, sweet, spicy, and savory, all grilled to absolute baby-back rib perfection. Served with roasted potatoes, sweet corn, and an Asian slaw (post to come), it was a summer meal to remember.

Even after all the planning that was put into this meal, there of course was a kink. The ribs were in hour-6 on the grill, the potatoes had just been put in the oven to roast, the first round of corn was just starting to boil on the stove. The sun was starting to set over Moose Point Lodge, tummies were starving, and then, the power goes out. Crap.

We went into crisis mode for a few minutes until I could think about what the heck I was going to do with two sheet pans full of raw potatoes and half cooked corn on the cob. Everyone offered their help and between the ten of us were ably to pull of this meal, even in a dark kitchen with no oven. Luckily we had a grill. I took the ribs off the grill, wrapped them in foil and put them into the warm oven. The potatoes went onto tin foil sheets onto the grill where they roasted for about another 45 minutes.

The corn hung out in the hot water and actually finished cooking. I rigged a lantern to hang from the kitchen cabinet and mixed up the coleslaw. Everything was still shockingly warm when we finally sat down to eat in the porch with candles and lanterns burning away. It was quite romantic. There were almost no leftovers so I can safely assume everyone enjoyed the dinner, and I did hear someone say "screw Famous Daves" at one point during the meal. I will take that as a compliment.

Dad's 3-2-1 Ribs

Adapted from the Minneapolis Star Tribune

I used 5 racks of baby back ribs for this, and I had the butcher cut them in half for easier handling. The measurements for the brine and the rub are nowhere near exact, but that's okay. Put in a little more of what you like, a little less of what you don't, and the ribs will be perfect for your taste buds. The 3-2-1 title refers to the time (in hours) spent on the grill in various ways: 3 hours on the grill, 2 hours wrapped in foil with liquid to steam, and 1 hour back on the grill bathing in sauce. It seems like a lot of work, but it is so, so worth it.

Brine

One handful kosher salt

One handful brown sugar

a few tablespoons of dried thyme, dried rosemary, black peppercorns, garlic powder, powdered ginger

3-4 crushed bay leaves

Put into 2 gallon Ziploc bag with ribs and add water until the ribs are covered. Let sit refrigerated overnight.

Rub

You can make as much of this as you want, put what you need on the ribs and save the rest for a later use.

2 parts onion powder

2 parts garlic powder

2 parts paprika

1 part powdered ginger

1 part hot mustard powder (or regular mustard powder, just add a little extra cayenne if you like it hot)

1 part thyme

1 part rosemary

1 part freshly ground black pepper

1/2 part salt

1/2 part cayenne

1/4 part cinnamon

1/4 part nutmeg

Mix all ingredients together, put in an airtight container until ready to use.

Sauce

3 cloves of garlic

2 inch piece of ginger

1 tablespoon of Siriacha (Asian chili paste)

1 cup raspberry vinegar

1 cup honey

1/2 cup soy sauce (I used gluten-free tamari)

1/2 cup Dijon mustard

1 cup olive oil

Puree garlic and ginger in food processor until it forms a paste. Add chili paste, vinegar, honey, soy sauce, and mustard and pulse to combine. Then, stream in the olive oil while processor is running to emulsify. Pour into saucepan and simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes until the sauce thickens just a bit. This can be made in advance, refrigerated, and reheated before applying to ribs.

When you are ready to start cooking, take the ribs out of the brine, and rinse well under cold water, making sure to get all the excess salt and herbs off the meat. Pat dry with paper towels and sprinkle the rub over one side of the meat. Let sit for a minute or two and then rub into meat with fingers or a fork. Flip ribs over and repeat. Let the ribs rest at room temperature while you prepare your grill.

Preheat your grill to high, and set up for indirect grilling. If you are using gas, turn the front and back burners on and leave the center burner off. If using charcoal you can put a drip pan in the center and arrange the coals on either side of the drip pan. When the grill gets hot, clean the grates and lower the temp until it hits 225-275. This is where the temperature should stay for the next 6 hours. Place your ribs on the grill over the center burner that is off, or over the drip pan, close the lid, and leave them alone.

Note: I prefer to use charcoal, but if like me, you find yourself cooking ribs at a cabin with only a gas grill at your disposal, it is possible to still get nice smoke flavor. Place some soaked wood chips (I used apple wood here) into a large piece of tin foil and wrap into a packet. Poke holes all over with a fork (including the bottom) and toss it onto an unused part of your grill.

Also, I had a ton of ribs and a very small grill. In order to keep all of the ribs over indirect heat, I had to stack them on top of each other. Since these are being grilled for such a long time, it doesn't really affect it too much, as long as you swap the ribs, bottom to top and vice-versa every 45 minutes or so. Note that this may add a bit to your cooking time since you are opening the grill more often and letting all the heat out.

After the ribs have been on the grill for three hours, it is time for stage two. For the next two hours, the ribs will basically steam on the grill, to make them absolutely tender and moist. Take the ribs and place them in a large sheet of HEAVY DUTY tin foil. Mold the tin foil up around the sides so as not to let any liquid leak out. Pour about a cup or two of chicken broth, beer, or cola (water is fine as well) into the bottom of the foil, and cover and seal with another sheet of foil. Now go have another beer (or go for a spin on the pontoon like I did).

Two hours later, it is time for the final stage. Take the ribs out of the tin foil and put them back directly on the grill, over indirect heat (the same as stage one). This time though you will be liberally applying the sauce every 15 minutes or so for one hour, until the ribs are almost falling off the bones, and are smelling heavenly.

Take the ribs off the grill, wrap them back in foil and let them rest for at least 15 minutes before eating and enjoying.

Go ahead lick your fingers, you know you want to.

Mile High Turkey Burgers

Ah Thursday again....where did the week go? I am here on the deck again, with some leftover French Pinot Noir that I bought to celebrate Bastille Day (any excuse to buy a good bottle of wine right?). The grill is roaring, the rain has passed, and its almost Friday. Ah, life is good.

Some of my friends and I have instituted what has been dubbed 'family dinner'. It rotates apartments and whoever hosts, cooks dinner for the rest of us. Last week was Steve and I's turn and it was the perfect excuse to give the grill the second go around.

Side note in real time: I just burned myself on the grill. I can't seem to cook without burning myself, I blame it on my genes. My dad can't cook without slicing one of his fingers off. (okay that may be an exaggeration, but I'm in a bit of pain right now and have had a glass of wine, so...moving on).

So back to family dinner. We threw some mean turkey burgers on the grill and some baby potatoes in the oven for an easy fantastic summer meal.

The best part of the burgers though was the toppings buffet. I think I went a little overboard but it worked out great since everyone got to put together their optimal version of a burger. We had dijon mustard, grilled peppers and onions, avocados, tomatoes, mushrooms sauteed with balsamic vinegar, arugula, and goat cheese. We piled it high onto grilled english muffins and created the tallest burgers I have ever seen. You would absolutely never know that they were turkey, you just don't miss the beef.

The key I have found when using ground turkey in place of ground beef, and not having it turn out a big dry disappointment, is to get the turkey from the butcher or buy the lean (not extra lean). With ground turkey, you need what little fat there is to get the rich juiciness of ground beef. While extra lean is a bit healthier, it usually leaves me wanting to eat something else for dinner, which ends up defeating the purpose anyhow.

A burger buffet is great for a crowd, throw in some gourmet toppings and a few unexpected items, and it will be a hit. The possibilities are endless, different cheeses, bacon, grilled zucchini, roasted garlic, aioli, tapenade, chutney, I could go on, but my food is almost ready so I will stop.

I served the burgers with some roasted baby red potatoes and also provided homemade salsa and chips for people to snack on while I was grilling. Everyone ate just a little too much, but I guess that's what makes for a GREAT family dinner.

Turkey Burgers and Roasted Potatoes

Makes about 12 burgers

3 pounds lean ground turkey

1 egg

3 shallots, diced

5 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/2 tablespoon dried thyme

1 egg

1 teaspoon chili powder

Salt and Pepper

12 English Muffins

2 small bags Baby Red Potatoes, quartered

Olive oil to coat

1/4 cup chopped parsley

Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix the turkey, egg, shallot, garlic, parsley, thyme, chili powder, salt and pepper together in a large bowl, just do it, use your hands. Its fun, I promise. Form into about 10-12 patties and let rest in fridge until grill is ready.

Preheat oven to 350. Mix the potatoes, olive oil, parsley, salt and pepper and spread on baking sheet. Cook until golden brown, tossing a few times throughout, about 40 minutes to an hour depending on how large the potatoes are.

Grill the burgers over direct medium heat about 10-12 minutes until no longer pink in the middle or your thermometer reads 160 degrees. I still do not have a thermometer so I go the classy route and cut one in half on a plate on the ground next to the grill. I continue to be baffled as to why people still want me to cook for them?

After the burgers are finished, put oiled english muffins directly over coals for about a minute until toasted. Serve with any and all, but not limited to, the toppings listed above. Oh and beer. There must be beer. :-)

Turmeric and Mustard Chicken Satay

Happy Thursday!

Sitting out on the deck again, this time with a glass of wine and a beautiful rainbow to the south. Its pretty chilly out again today, this summer has been pretty wimpy so far here in Chicago. We had a few 90 degree days, but its almost halfway through July and I feel like its not even summer yet. How do we deal with this? Put on a sweatshirt and sit out on the deck anyway.

Or grill. Steve (my boyfriend) and I moved again in June -that makes three years and three apartments- but this time to a place with not only a deck but a second bedroom. The deck is by far my favorite spot and we have gotten quite a bit of use out of it in the month and a half or so that we have been here. Back in June I was up in Minnesota joining my sister on the MS 150 Bike Ride, and figured it was time to dig my old 22" Weber Charcoal Kettle out of the garage.

It was like uncovering a relic, still in the torn black garbage bag that it was put into two years ago when I graduated and moved to the city, and covered in dust. I work (indirectly) for Weber so it was sort of a sin that I had a deck for two weeks and had not grilled anything yet. Trying to put the ridicule to rest, the next weekend my best friend Stefanie came to Chicago to visit and we put the kettle to good use. We threw some chicken and vegetable kabobs on the grill served with some orange rice, and spicy oranges peanut dipping sauce, oh and don't forget the wine, that is key :-)

I am not known for measuring things, so I can give an approximation of what I used in these recipes, and I vow to keep better track of ingredients. It was a fatanstically easy meal and pleased the crowd (okay just me, Stef, and Steve, but we were pretty happy campers) Enjoy!

Turmeric- Dijon Chicken Kabobs

This marinade I kind of threw together from stuff I had in my pantry, so taste often and add more of whichever flavors you want to bring out the most. I served the chicken with Rachel Ray's Orange Rice and Peanut Satay Sauce (thanks for the suggestion Rian!).

Chicken

1.5-2 lbs. chicken breast tenders (about two packages)

2 tablespoons turmeric

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 cloves crushed garlic

2 inches crushed ginger

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper to taste

Veggies

2 Zucchini

1 Red Onion

2 Red Bell Peppers
(I also had the brilliant idea that carrots would be delish and quickly realized that no, they do not enjoy being put on skewers, so that idea got scrapped)
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Rice

Zest of 3 Oranges
3 Cups Jasmine Rice

Satay Sauce

4 rounded tablespoonfuls chunky peanut butter
3 tablespoons dark soy, Tamari
3 tablespoons honey
1-inch ginger root, peeled and minced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 orange, juiced

Directions

The night before the meal, I combined the turmeric, mustard, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, worcestershire, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper in a Ziploc bag with the chicken and let it hang out in the fridge overnight.

TIP: I had a hell of a time trying to skewer these the next day, plus my hands turned yellow so I would highly recommend skewering first, THEN marinading.

The night of the actual meal, I cut up the zucchini, onion, and bell peppers, tossed them with a little olive oil and salt and pepper and put those on skewers as well.

I use a charcoal grill so right after I set the coals up in my chimney, I combined the rice and the orange zest and cooked it according the the package directions. Rice can be a great accompaniment for grilling especially since it can be taken off of the heat and rest covered until the rest of the meal is ready.

While the rice was coming to a boil and the charcoal was lighting, I combined all of the satay sauce ingredients and put the mixture into a sauce pan and set aside.

Once the charcoal was ready, I put everything on the grill at once, with the chicken directly over the coals, and the veggies around the sides. I turned them occasionally and moved skewers off the direct heat as they cooked through.

Meanwhile, I set the satay sauce over medium- low heat and stirred occasionally just to combine ingredients, until meat and vegetables were done grilling and rice was done cooking.

This made A LOT of food, which was great because we had leftovers for days. Even the rice, as simple as it was, was so flavorful and was a perfect compliment with the chicken and satay sauce.

I apologize if this recipe is hard to follow, seems erratic, doesn't make ANY sense whatsoever, it is my first shot at writing a recipe out start to finish, and it was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. Heres hoping it gets better from here. More food fun to come, next up Mile High Turkey Burgers....mmm.....