Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

Grilled Chicken Ceasar Salad

Summers in the Midwest are absolutely perfect for grilling. Grilled dinners are actually some of my favorite because it’s the closest my husband and I come to ‘couples cooking’. I usually prepare the food (marinade it) and he does the manly ‘grilling’ and feels involved. Recently, we’ve gotten very much into making salads with grilled additions (grilled chicken, grilled fish, etc). This is a semi-traditional Chicken Caesar Salad (except we didn’t use onions since my husband hates them) that is filling and delicious but still healthy. Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

Ingredients
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
3 large garlic cloves, smashed
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 roma tomatoes
3 slices country-style bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I omitted this because husband and I aren’t fans of croutons)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, about 6-oz each
1 large head romaine lettuce or 3 hearts of romaine, chopped (we used ‘spring mix’ because it’s what we had on hand)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Prepare the grill for direct cooking over medium heat (350-450 degrees) and preheat a grill pan.
In a blender or food processor, pulse the lemon juice, garlic, mustard, Worcestershire, salt, and pepper until smooth. With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream until dressing is emulsified.
In a medium bowl toss the tomatoes and bread cubes with 2 tablespoons of the dressing if making croutons.
Pour 2 tablespoons of the dressing over chicken and turn to coat evenly. Marinade 10-20 minutes.
Brush the cooking grates clean. Grill chicken over direct medium heat, with the lid closed as much as possible, until the meat is firm to the touch and opaque all the way to the center, 8-12 minutes, turning once or twice. The chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
During the last 2-3 minutes of grilling, spread the tomatoes and bread cubes in a single layer on the grill pan and cook until the tomatoes start to blister and the bread is toasted, turning occasionally. Remove everything from the grill and let the chicken rest for 3-5 minutes so the juices inside can redistribute. Cut the chicken crosswise into 1/2-inch slices.
In a large bowl toss the lettuce with the dressing a cheese. Divide the salad chicken, tomatoes, and croutons evenly among serving plates. Serve immediately.

Source: Handle the Heat

Recipe Swap – Asian Grilled Salmon with Coconut Rice

Asian Grilled Salmon and Coconut Rice

Recently, I’ve been trying to get more involved in the ‘cooking community’. Part of this has been cooking more with friends. Part of it has been starting a food blog. Most recently, I ventured out and decided to be a part of a recipe swap hosted by A Taste of Home Cooking Blog. The idea of this is simple; submit an Asian  recipe  and  get assigned one in return to cook and review / blog about.

My husband went to high school in Japan, so coming up with a recipe for me to recommend  was easy, I sent out his favorite Kung Pao Chicken. The ‘recipe’ I got in return, was actually a full meal from Nicole at Baby Food Scoops! The meal included Asian Grilled Salmon, Coconut Rice and Sauteed Snap Peas. Being  that I was in a bit of a hurry the night I made this, and that my husband isn’t really a fan of snap peas, I made the salmon and  rice without the peas (but will still post the snap peas recipe for anyone who is interested).

Review: My husband really liked the salmon. He thought that the marinade was great! Definitely a keeper! We love grilling in the summertime, so we will definitely make this again. The rice, my husband isn’t a huge fan  of coconut, so I knew he’s be a bit apprehensive about this…that and he isn’t a hue fan of anything that isn’t made in his Japaneese Rice Cooker. My mother however LOVED the rice. She actually got the recipe from me so that she could make it again.

Asian Grilled Salmon

Asian Grilled Salmon

Ingredients:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tbsp unsweetened pineapple juice
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 garlic cloves, minced (I used 4…we like garlic in this household…)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce (I used a full tsp)
1 salmon fillet (2 pounds)

Directions:

In small bowl, combine the first nine ingredients.
Pour 3/4 cup into large resealable bag; add salmon.
Seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate at least 1 hour, turning occasionally.
Set aside remaining marinade for basting. Create a ‘pan’ for salmon with a sheet of aluminum foil. Drain and discard marinade.
Place salmon skin-side-down on aluminum foil. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 5 minutes. Brush with reserved marinade. Grill 15-20 minutes longer or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Coconut Rice

Coconut Rice

Ingredients:
2 cups Thai jasmine-scented rice
2 cups good-quality coconut milk, not fat-free (or 3 tbsp cream of coconut + milk to equal 1 cup)
1 3/4 cups water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. canola oil
Optional Garnish: 2 Tbsp. dry shredded coconut

Directions:
Rub oil over the bottom of a deep-sided pot. (Note: the pot will need a tight-fitting lid).
Place rice, coconut milk, water, and salt in the pot. Place pot on the stove over medium to high heat. Stir well.
Continue to stir occasionally until the coconut milk & water come to a bubbling boil (stirring will keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning).
Once the rice has begun to bubble, stop stirring. Turn down the heat to medium-low. Place lid askew on the pot, so that it is at least 3/4 covered.
Allow to simmer in this way for 10 minutes, or until rice has absorbed most of the coconut-water.
Now turn off the heat, but leave the pot on the burner. Cover the pot tightly with the lid and allow to sit 5-10 minutes, or until the rest of your dinner is ready (the rice will “steam” and be nice and sticky).
When ready to eat, remove the lid and “fluff” rice with a fork or chopsticks, gently loosening it in the pot.
Optional Step: “dry fry” 2 Tbsp. shredded coconut in a (dry) frying pan over medium heat, stirring continually until the coconut turns golden-brown. Sprinkle this toasted coconut over the rice for an extra coconutty treat. (I skipped this step since due to the whole ‘coconut issue’ with husband)

Sauteed Snap Peas

Ingredients:
1 pound sugar snap peas, rinsed
1-2 tbsp sesame oil
1-2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tsp coarse sea salt

Directions:
Heat oil in large skillet. Add peas and sea salt to skillet and stir fry 10-15 minutes. Toss with sesame seeds and serve warm.

Source: Adapted from: Baby Food Scoops

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms

 

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms

So, do you have cavities yet from all of the sweet posts?

Now that Valentine’s Day is past, I thought I would start posting “real” food posts again…not that dessert isn’t ‘real’ food but I think I’m in the minority when I claim that dessert should be the bottom of the food pyramid.

I’m not a red meat eater, so whenever I make my husband steak, I usually scavenge around the kitchen trying to find something for myself to eat…and that ‘something’ usually ends up being a Boca burger. Well, one night, I got tired of doing  that so I decided to actually make a gourmet meal and make grilled portobello mushrooms for myself. I had only had portobellos in sandwiches before but let me tell you, these were incredible! They were juicy and flavorful, and I didn’t feel at all like I was missing out by not eating steak that night.

This recipe would probably work well with the whole portobello caps too, but I used what was on sale (pre-sliced stems) and it was so delicious. I highly recommend this recipe for any vegetarian or non-vegetarian willing to be adventurous.

 

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms

Ingredients

4 large portobello mushrooms, washed, stems cut off and caps cut into slices
1 1/2 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
black pepper, to taste

Directions

Melt the butter, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic & pepper together in a small saucepan.
Brush the mushrooms generously with the melted butter and olive oil mixture.
On a grill pan, grill the portobello mushrooms for about 8 minutes. Turn and grill the tops of the portobello mushrooms for 6 to 8 minutes longer. The grilled portobello mushrooms should be tender and nicely browned.

Source: Adapted from: Southern Food About dot com