What I'm Grilling Wednesday and RWW

As I mentioned in this post, my dad bought us a grill for a belated house warming gift during graduation weekend.  J and I have used the grill several times since then and I'd like to share some of the recipes (and meals) we've had using the grill.

J getting the grill ready

First up was a meal we made last Thursday and it is perfect for the heatwave we've been having: Mint Marinated Grilled Shrimp with Tabbouleh Salad.  I got to cook with an ingredient I'd never worked with before (bulgur) and there is so much mint in the dish, it literally gave me the chills while I was preparing it.  How's that for free air conditioning?

Mint Marinated Grilled Shrimp with Tabbouleh Salad, as seen on Boy Meets Grill by Bobby Flay

Ingredients:
For the tabbouleh salad:
1/2 cup medium or coarsely cracked bulgur--I found it in the bulk bins at our local grocery store (Dierberg's)
1 1/2 cups boiling water
3/4 cup baby arugula leaves
2 large green onions, thinly sliced 
3 tablespoons finely chopped mint leaves, plus fresh mint leaves for garnish
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice--if it is a juicy one, this is about half a lemon
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

For the grilled shrimp:
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (the other half of your juicy lemon)
3 tablespoons fresh mint
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound of shrimp (20 to 24 size) shelled and deveined
Salt

Kitchen Supplies:
Wooden or metal skewers--if using wooden skewers (which we did) you will need to soak them for at least 12 hours (we soaked them for 24 hours) to prevent them from burning on the grill
Large glass bowl
Medium glass bowl
Small glass bowl
Plastic wrap
Blender or food processor
Grill or grill pan
Fine mesh strainer, for draining bulgur 

Place bulgur in a large bowl and pour boiling water over.  Cover with plastic wrap and let stand until bulgur is tender, about 90 minutes.

 Drain off any excess liquid and stir in the arugula, green onions and mint. 

Whisk together lemon juice, garlic, and oil and season with salt and pepper.  Pour the mixture over the bulgur and season with salt and pepper. 

Meanwhile, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, mint, canola oil and pepper in a blender and blend until smooth.  Place shrimp in a bowl and pour marinade over, stirring to coat thoroughly.  Marinate for 10 minutes.  Heat grill to high heat (ours took about 15 minutes to warm up) and thread shrimp onto skewers.

Here's a tip I read in the latest Real Simple magazine that helped tremendously with the actual grilling of the shrimp.  Instead of sticking one skewer through the center of each shrimp, use two skewers to thread the sides of it.  This will produce a much flatter surface and plane for grilling and will prevent shrimp from sticking as much or falling through the grill plate.  Here is a picture of what I mean.

Season shrimp with salt and grill for 1 to 2 minutes a side or until slightly charred and just cooked through.

Serves: 4

Our grilling tray--2 beers, skewered shrimp on the bottom, two plates and some pineapple

As you can see from the photo, we also grilled some pineapple for a delicious side dish.  We like to season our pineapple with a little chili pepper at the end for some extra kick!

Our next grilling menu is what we had last night (and the leftovers of which I will be eating today, which is how WIAW ties in).  As I alluded to in this post, we were going to have chorizo brats and grilled avocado for dinner last night.  If you have a grill or a grill pan, you must try grilling avocados.  It is just too delicious and easy not too!

Grilled Avocado with Fresh Pico de Gallo sauce, modified from a recipe from our friend HHD

Ingredients:
For the avocados:
2 ripe avocados
Half of a lime, juiced
Drizzle of olive oil

For the Pico de Gallo:
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 of a yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled
Half of a bunch of cilantro, stems removed
1 lime, juiced
Salt 
Pepper
Dash of red pepper flakes

Kitchen Supplies:
Cutting board
Sharp knife
Medium glass bowl
Food processor or blender

Place ingredients for the Pico de Gallo sauce in a food processor and blend until the sauce has the desired consistency--I like my Pico to be mostly smooth but not sauce-like, if that makes sense.  Set aside.

Heat grill to medium-medium high.  Cut avocados in half lengthwise and remove pits.   Squeeze lime juice over each half before drizzling each with a little olive oil.  When you get to the grill, pour out excess lime-olive oil juices (so they don't splatter when you place them on the grill) and place flesh side down on the grill.  Let cook for about 5-6 minutes until char lines appear.  Remove and spoon a little of the Pico de Gallo into the hole of the avocado, topping with sour cream or Greek yogurt if desired.  Devour with a spoon.  No chips required!

I may or may not have taken a bite of this avocado before taking a picture.  Sorry!

Which brings us to the RWW (Remember When Wednesday) part of the post.  Grilling to me will always remind me of this old girl, our first dog Amber.

This photo is from the last Christmas we had Amber circa 2005

She was born in Missouri and we adopted her when we lived here for two years when I was in first and second grade.  We originally had adopted her sister, Mallory, from a rescue group at a local Petsmart or Petsco, so named because her mom was an Alaskan Malamute.  Sadly Mallory developed some sort of illness a few days after we brought her home and passed away.  Luckily Amber had yet to be adopted and we were able to bring her home with us.  Bringing her home may have involved a long hour drive into rural Missouri where she was living in a farmhouse bathroom, but that's a different story.

The reason I bring up Amber today is that she was an ever-present part of grilling in our house.  As soon as the lid on the grill went up, she was there laying in front of it the entire time we cooked out there just in case any scraps fell off.  If we had steaks or other meat that could be given to her safely with her food, we would always give her and our other dog Rojo a little extra treat in their bowls that night.  I think that might have been the real motivation behind laying by the grill--to remind us she was there and that she expected some treats!

She was so diligent about laying in front of the grill that once when my dad had the lid up (because he had spray painted it black to combat some fading and rust and it was drying) she sat there for days waiting for some food to come her way.  We finally figured out what she was doing out there in the grass and quickly closed the lid (and gave her some treats)!  When J and I grilled this week, we didn't have a dog at our side while we were cooking but we did have a vocal cat who lectured us about coming in and out of the apartment so much while we were cooking.  What is that saying, the more things change, the more things stay the same?

What are you eating this Wednesday?  Do you have a grill or grill pan?  If so, what is your favorite thing to grill?  We are always looking for new grilling ideas!

Birthday Dinner Recap, or Two New Recipes

As I talked about in this post, I had a birthday dinner at my grandparents' house in Peoria on Saturday night.  J unfortunately had to stay in the Lou and study for finals, while keeping an eye on that mischievous Woods.  J and I celebrated together with friends on the night of my actual birthday with pizza.

I was lucky enough to be able to select the menu for the dinner and I knew immediately what I would request:  French Onion Soup, Caesar Salad and Steak--some of my grandpa's best recipes!  In fact, I am pretty sure this is what my mom or any of her seven siblings would have asked for for their birthday dinner too.  The recipes are that good!

I also got to pick out which china pattern we would have dinner on.  My grandma has several sets of beautiful china, including one she received from my grandpa's mother--I picked their wedding china for my birthday dinner!

First is French Onion Soup.  

There aren't a lot of ingredients, but they come together to make a really hearty and delicious soup for the winter or any time!


Ingredients:
1/4 cup of butter
1 large onion sliced--use a mandolin if you have one but watch your fingers!
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/3 teaspoon salt
1 can beef broth
1 can beef consumme
1 1/2 cans of water (using the beef broth can)
1/2 cup white wine
splash of Madeira
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (palm's worth)
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
Swiss, gruyere or parmesan cheese, grated
French bread, cut into rounds (twelve if baguette, six if a larger bread)


Kitchen Supplies:
Mandolin, preferred not required
Can opener
Cheese grater
Wine opener
Stock pot
Ovenproof soup bowls

Melt butter in stock pot over medium-low heat.  Add onions, celery and salt and reduce to low.  Cook slowly until onions caramelize and turn golden brown.

Add remaining ingredients through white pepper.  Cover and simmer for thirty minutes.   While simmering, toast bread rounds in a warm oven.  Spoon into ovenproof bowls and top with toasted bread rounds.  Cover with cheese and place under broiler for 2 minutes until cheese is melted and has started to turn golden.

Just to clarify: the soup bowl is a Christmas bowl.  The gold rimmed china is their wedding china.

Serves 6

Next up is my Grandpa's Caesar Salad. 

This time, we had to borrow anchovies from the neighbors because by that point the roads were getting bad and we didn't want to venture very far.  My grandma got the ingredients Papa needed to make the salad and continue getting things ready for dinner.  My aunt and I were sitting by the fire, reading our books, when we heard my Papa cry out "Mary, Mary, Mary!" (my grandma's name)  We all came running, concerned he had fallen, cut himself, or worse only to find she had given him balsamic vinegar instead of red wine vinegar.  At that point he had already poured it in the dressing and we tried to make it work.  After letting it sit for fifteen minutes while we worked on the croutons we finally concluded the balsamic vinegar version was just awful.  We asked Papa to remake it using the red wine vinegar and he did, which we were very thankful for!  The second version came out great, just how we had remembered it!

Ingredients:
1 large bunch romaine lettuce, washed and dried
1 can anchovies and juice
1 egg
1/2 lemon
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2/3 cup olive oil
Couple shakes of Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce
Ground black pepper
Shot of yellow mustard
Salt
Parmesan cheese


For croutons:
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of butter, cut into two pats
Olive oil--enough to coat bottom of skillet
French bread (about 8-12 slices) cut into 1 inch squares


Kitchen Supplies:
Salad spinner--not required, but it does make the drying of romaine leaves easier!
Salad bowl
Skillet
Whisk

In wooden bowl, mix vinegar, oil, anchovies oil and one crushed anchovie, lemon juice, egg, mustard, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce and other herbs and spices.  Allow to sit.

In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Add bread cubes, butter and garlic.  Stir frequently until croutons crisp up and turn golden brown.

Remove from heat.  Break up lettuce, add to dressing in the bowl and mix well.  If the dressing has separated while it was sitting there, give it a quick whisk to recombine.  Sprinkle Parmesan cheese and mix well.  Add croutons and if desired, additional anchovies.

I love anchovies so this recipe is a no brainer for me.  However, if you are not an anchovies fan, please at least try the croutons on your favorite salad.  You won't be sorry!

A bowl of the French Onion Soup and Caesar Salad would have been more than enough for dinner, but we also had steak and baked potatoes.  We topped it off with Italian wedding cake that a close friend who shared dinner with us had made and brought for us!

Overall, it was a great birthday dinner with some of my favorite people!

How did you celebrate your birthday this year, friends?