Cherry BBQ sauce. Hubs couldn’t quit talking about it.
A wonderful twist on traditional BBQ Sauce. It’s complicated in flavor. Savouring each bite, the palate sorts through a myriad of flavors as you start thinking about everything in sight that you could possibly drizzle this on. Tart, sweet, sticky AND savory, it would be a perfect pair with duck or pork. Our first introduction was on some cinnamon cured smoked chicken.
I just discovered grilling potatoes last summer and am loving every crispy smoky slice I’ve plated. Wanting to try grilling sweet potatoes, I Googled and the top recipe was this Bobby Flay Grilled Sweet Potato with Lime and Cilantro recipe. I saw absolutely no reason to look any further. Bobby Flay recipes never disappoint and I thought the lime and cilantro were a perfect combination for the sweet flavor.
This somewhat put me in mind of one of the delicious Mexican snow cones I had in Tucson. Sweet, salty, spicy and limey. How can you go wrong with that combination? Rather than take the time to parboil I decided to slice the potato lengthwise into big paddles using my mandolin set on 1/4 inch thickness, then I grilled as Bobby’s recipe indicated. They grilled up very nicely. We found these to be a delicious side dish for grilled chicken thighs and a fresh salad. A wonderful summer meal. The only thing I would change is to at least double the lime zest and the cayenne. Seemed like there wasn’t enough to go around, and I only used one large sweet potato. I’d also take the time to wedge and pre-cook before grilling. That big orange paddle wasn’t as attractive as the white potato paddles I grilled last week. Let’s take a look.
Bobby Flay’s Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Lime and Cilantro
Directions Parcook the potatoes: Place in a pot of water and boil until fork-tender; let cool. Slice each potato lengthwise into eighths. Preheat a grill to medium or place a cast-iron grill pan over medium heat. Mix 1 tablespoon salt, the lime zest and cayenne in a small bowl. Brush the potato wedges with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until golden brown on all sides (including the skin) and just cooked through, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter; immediately season with the salt mixture and sprinkle with cilantro.
Bobby Flay’s Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Lime and Cilantro…It’s What’s for a Summer Side Dish.
A few months ago I watched Ina Garten grill up a Sunday breakfast feast and promptly bookmarked her sausage breakfast hotdogs. Served up with some country fried potatoes on a beautiful sunny Memorial Day morning was a perfect holiday treat.
I started out by thinly slicing some potatoes for some good old-fashioned fried potatoes just like my mom used to do. I fried them in a combination of olive oil and bacon fat and with a dusting of salt and pepper and they needed nothing else. Crispy brown on the outside, tender on the inside. Mmm..waaa!
Meanwhile out on the grill were the sizzling spinach and feta flavored chicken sausages waiting to be drizzled with the star of this meal…Ina’s Mustard and Mayo sauce . It’s a luxurious white creamy mayo, sour cream mixture with a hint of tangy mustard. This sauce would make a shoe taste good.
Before I share the recipe, let’s talk about sour cream. A couple of months ago when posting a recipe that included sour cream, I received an email from Cathy over at Noble Pig saying ”all sour creams are not created equal”. Hmm…never really thought about it. She continued that she always buys the high quality Tillamook brand. Not having Tillamook available (darn it), I did indeed study sour creams the next time I was at the market. I bought Wallaby brand and the difference between it and the run of the mill product from Safeway was like night and day…and only for about a dollar more. It had a consistency comparable to Greek Yogurt and a creamy richer flavor.
Ok, back to the breakfast, here’s Ina’s recipe.
Ina’s Grilled Chicken Sausage with Mustard Mayo:
Good Quality Chicken Sausages, served on buns like a hot dog and topped with mustard mayo.
1 1/2 cups good mayonnaise
3 Tbs Dijon mustard
1 1/2 Tbs whole-grain mustard
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1. Whisk the mayonnaise, mustards, sour cream and salt together in a small bowl. Serve at room temperature.
Ok, I’m serving it up, do you want your poached egg on your potatoes?
Or on your hot dog?
Ina’s Chicken Sausage Hot Dogs…
They’re What’s For Breakfast.
Located on one corner of our beautiful Coors Field baseball stadium in downtown Denver is the Sandlot Brewery and Rounders Pub. Years ago when we had season tickets to the Rockies Games, we’d always stop in at Rounder’s for a pre-game burger.
Sandlot was a test brewpub for Coors and Rounders served up your pre-game grub. During Rockies games it is closed to the public and only accessible from inside Coors Field for attendees of the baseball game. Even when we arrived early for those afternoon games, we’d have to wait almost 45 minutes for a table. Worth it…for both people watching and the food.
My favorite burger on the menu was their buffalo burger. A bison patty with melted cheese, barbeque sauce and topped with a couple of slices of bacon and onion. Easy enough to recreate at home!
This time I used some Chipotle Cheddar cheese that I bought at Smith’s Market when I was in Kansas. This cheese comes from Jason Wiebe Dairy in Durham, Kansas. It’s not only delicious but some of the best melting cheese I’ve ever worked with. It worked like a charm grated for some nachos last week and beautiful on these burgers. Not to mention a great and unique flavor addition to both dishes.
Chipotle Cheddar Bacon Barbeque Burgers
(didn’t use bison this time)
1/3 pound ground lamb
1/3 pound 85-15% ground beef
2 slices yellow sweet onion
2 slices bacon, fried and sliced in half
Your favorite barbeque sauce
Chipotle cheddar cheese
Mix the lamb and beef together then form two hamburger patties. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and a dusting of Canadian Steak Seasoning. Grill up your burgers, brush buns with butter toast them on the grill and add your cheese towards the end to melt. To build your burger, place burger on the bun, add a little barbeque sauce, some onion and dig in.
Serves 2
Chipotle Cheddar Bacon Barbeque Burgers…
It’s What’s For Dinner!
1 year ago Rick Bayless Short Ribs
I’ll never forget inviting the in-laws over for dinner and my Mother-in-law exclaiming, ”This chicken is pretty good for being burnt”. Thus started my quest for a recipe that would produce perfectly grilled chicken, EVERY time.
Don’t you just get flat out grumpy when you’ve slaved over the hot grill, turning, moving, babying each piece of chicken and just when you think everything is perfect take it to the table and bite into a thigh to find that pinkish, not quite done, weird texture thing going on. SHUDDER. And the darn thing looks cooked on the outside.
This recipe turns out great every time. Let’s take a look.
Oscar Mayer died at the age of 95. So in honor, let’s all cook up some sort of wieners, or make a bologna sandwich or something - well, I’m thinkin brats, since I already had them purchased and planned for dinner:
Simple. Open up your favorite bottle of beer and pour it into your favorite fry pan, heat the beer and poke a few holes in your favorite brand of brats and let them steep in heated beer for about ten minutes.
Throw em on the grill and brown them until crispy on the outside. Make sure to watch them so they don’t burn. Serve them on your favorite bun and with your favorite summer salad. In this case I made a simple broccoli salad, you know the kind, with a sweet/sour mayonnaise based sauce a combination of broccoli florets, sunflower seeds, raisins, celery, onion etc. Just toss in what sounds good. If anyone wants an exact recipe, I can measure ingredients next time I make it. It’s just vinegar, sugar, mayo, salt and pepper. I will note here that I like to use seasoned Rice Vinegar, or plain old cider vinegar.
Enjoy a blast from the past with this Oscar Mayer Television Commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmPRHJd3uHI
I found a recipe on Foodandwine.com that sounded interesting so decided to give it a try it last night. We’ve been having beautiful weather here in Denver, so can’t get enough of grill time. I thought this recipe sounded interesting, a new twist with tomatillas on a skewer. We thought it was delicious.
The vinaigrette is important here. Use a good quality red-wine vinegar. And of course fresh mint from the garden. I couldn’t stop smelling it in the bowl while waiting to brush it on the meat. Very fresh.
I don’t like a a gas grill for chicken. I swear by Whole Foods natural wood and added one Whole Foods Apple Wood chip. I accidentally thawed out chicken thighs, and they ended up working very well in this recipe. We loved the skewered tomatillas. I’ve seen the baby squash at Whole Foods, but couldn’t find any yesterday, so I just used chunks of yellow summer squash.
We paired with an Oregon A to Z Pinot Gris – yum
Take a look:
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/chicken-skewers-with-fresh-herb-vinaigrette-and-feta
