Grilled Red Potato Salad

I got a new barbeque basket and really didn't know what to make of it and so it sat around for a while unused. Then I was watching a Bobby Flay barbeque show and he made this recipe. So, here's my attempt to make Bobby Flays grilled potato salad with stone ground mustard vinaigrette. I must say the dish turned out perfect and one would expect nothing less from Bobby.

 

Ingredients:

1 pound small red potatoes

2 tablespoons stone ground mustard

6 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Preparation:

The key to this dish is the preparation of the potatoes. First, start by washing the potatoes. Next cut the potatoes into bite size wedges. Now you want to par boil the potatoes. Par boil means to partially cook. Cook the potatoes in a medium sauce pan with plenty of water at a very slow boil for 7 minutes. By doing this the potatoes will brown and crisp on the grill and have a wonderfully soft interior.

 

When the potatoes and done, strain and lay out on some paper towels in order to cool and dry. The potatoes need to be dry before you start grilling or the potatoes will stick to the grill.

 

Place the potatoes into a large bowl and add 1 tablespoon olive oil and toss. Place the potatoes in the grill basket and then on the barbeque and cook at medium heat until all sides are brown and crispy.

 

While the potatoes are grilling, take the stone ground mustard and add to a small bowl, Whisk in the remaining 5 tablespoons of olive oil. Add a grind of salt and pepper to the dressing and your done.

 

When the potatoes are done, remove from the grill to a large serving bowl. Pour on the stoneground mustard vinaigrette, toss and serve. Garnish the dish with chopped Italian parsley and fresh ground black pepper.

Basil and Garlic Marinated Chicken Breast Cooked on a Flat Top Griddle.

This savory chicken dish rocks. It can be served many different sides such as roasted potato's or grits... yum!

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, butterflied
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:

Rinse your chicken breasts and then dry using paper towels. Take the chicken breasts and butterfly them so they are half as thick and place into a large Ziploc bag. Add the olive oil, crushed garlic and chopped basil. Marinate for a couple of hours.

 

Food Network Backsplash Griddle

This chicken dish is best made using a flat top griddle. I use one from Food Network called a backsplash griddle. I put the griddle right on the BBQ and it turns out awesome and keeps the mess out of the kitchen. You wouldn't want to grill this dish because the heat and flame would burn the

basil.

Heat you flat top grill pan to medium heat. There's already olive oil on the chicken so you don't need any more. Cook the chicken on each side for about 5 minutes. Check the doneness using a thermometer and if your at 160 degrees, you're done. When your done cooking place the chicken on a plate and let rest 5 minutes.

You can serve this dish with any number of sides such as:

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

White Pepper Grits and Cheddar Cheese

Linguini with Turkey Bolognese

This is a truly wonderful bolognese sauce, though I didn't make it, I'm going to blog about it. This turkey bolognese is actually so good, you could tell your guests you made it and they would want the recipe.... This is "Just Sauce" frozen turkey bolognaise sauce from Trader Joes severed over linguini. I would highly recommend this as an easy weekday meal. 

 

Ingredients:

1 pound Barilla Linguini

1 package Trader Joe's Turkey Bolognese

Grated parmesan cheese

Red pepper flakes 

 

Heat the frozen bolognaise in the microwave per directions. Cook the pasta in plenty of salted water per directions, usually 11 - 12 minutes.

 

Drain the pasta, reserve 1/8 cup pasta water. Add the pasta to a 12" sauté pan. add 1/4 of the bolognaise sauce and 1/8 cup water to the pasta and toss. When heated through, place a serving portion onto a plate and top half the remaining bolognaise sauce. Top with grated parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, a drizzle of olive oil and chopped Italian parsley.  

This meal goes great with:
Avocado Garlic Caesar Salad
Tuscan Toast

 

Scalloped Potato Stack

I guess I have a thing for scalloped potato's or maybe the mandolin I use to slice the potato's. In any event, I've made this a few times and it really makes for a nice way to serve scalloped potato's.

Ingredients:
1 large or 2 medium russet potato's
Shredded cheddar cheese
Slivered yellow onion
Lite sour cream
diced green onion

Preparation:

Peel the russet potato's and use your mandolin to slice the potato's very thin. Use the mandolin to also slice some yellow onion, you don't need much.

I use a metal 3" ring mold to make this scalloped potato dish. Place the ring molds on to a baking pan and spray the inside of the ring mold and bottom of the baking pan with olive oil or canola oil.

Place slices of potato in the ring mold about 1/3 of the way to the top. Add a couple of slivered
yellow onion, it doesn't take much. Add a little sprinkle of shredded cheddar and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Create another layer by adding more potato till your about 2/3's the way up to the top followed by a few slivered onions, cheddar cheese and salt and pepper. Top the scalloped potato with a little more cheese.

Cover the potato's with aluminum foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

When done cooking use a oven mitt and hold the ring mold and use a sharp knife to cut the potato loose. Take a spatula and take the ring mold to the serving plate and slide the ring mold off.

Top the scalloped potato with lite sour cream, sprinkle of cheddar cheese and green onion.

This go wonderfully with a grilled steak!

Coffee Crusted Grilled New York Strip Steak

BLT on Sliced Sourdough

What can I say, I'm a BLT freak and this is the ultimate for me. A BLT served on sliced toasted sourdough with Best Foods mayonnaise, crunchy bacon, juicy tomato and crisp lettuce, so good!

Ingredients:

Sliced sourdough bread
bacon cooked, 4 pcs per sandwich
Beefsteak tomato, thick sliced
Iceberg lettuce
Best Foods lite mayonnaise
Salt and pepper

Preparation:

Toast your sourdough bread golden brown and crispy. Add some mayonnaise to the bottom piece of bread, then some lettuce. Next add the bacon, tomato, salt and pepper. Add some mayonnaise to the top piece of bread and cut the sandwich in half. Serve with a simple Caesar salad.

Grilled Salmon served on Sesame Noodles

This is a killer dish that I would rank as very high on my list of awesome meals. First, I love these sesame noodles. I've made them a bunch of different ways, but below is the recipe I prefer most. Second, grilled salmon is the bomb, but when you top it off with a little sriracha sour cream and serve over sesame noodles....you've made something to be proud of....

Check out my sesame noodle recipe here:
Sesame Noodles

Grilled Salmon:
Ingredients:
2 8oz salmon filets
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon sriracha sauce
1/4 cup lite sour cream
1 tablespoon milk

Preparation: Salmon



Scanpan stove top grill

Preheat a stove top grill pan to medium high. I use the stove top grill pan from Scanpan. Brush a little olive oil on each piece of salmon and cook skin side up on the grill for 6 minutes.

 

While the salmon is cooking, prepare the sauce. mix 1/4 lite sour cream with 1 teaspoon sriracha and mix. Add a little bit of milk to thin the sauce out and your done.

 

After 6 minutes turn the salmon over so the skin side is down and finish cooking, about 6 minutes more. When cooking is complete, remove the salmon from the grill pan leaving the cooked skin behind. 

 

Plate the sesame noodles and top with a piece of grilled salmon. Garnish the dish with chopped cilantro.

Mexicana Style Green Salad

This is a wonderful summer salad. Crisp cold iceberg lettuce, fragrant cilantro and green onions with mixed in sliced cherry tomatoes, black beans. I use a yogurt based ranch, Bolt House farms, what else... and topped with a  1/2 avocado. This is super healthy, crispy, crunchy and awesome. 

 

Ingredients for 2 portions:

1/2 large head iceberg lettuce

1/2 bunch cilantro

4 -5 green onions

12 cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup black beans

1 medium avocado

 

Preparation:

Take your head of lettuce and cut in half, then in quarters. Thinly slice the lettuce so you basically have shredded lettuce and place into a large salad bowl. Dice the green onions, rough chop the cilantro and add to the lettuce.

 

At this point I like to plate the salad. Put half of the lettuce on each plate and top with cherry tomatoes. Add about 2 tablespoons ranch salad dressing and top with 1/2 sliced avocado. Give a grind of pepper and you're done. 

Roasted Chicken Breast with White Beans, Cherry Tomatoes & Bay Leaf

This chicken dish has just a few ingredients and tastes so wonderful. The key to this dish is the bay leaf which adds a very rustic tone to the white beans and tomatoes.

 

Ingredients:

Chicken breast

1 can Great Northern White Beans

1 cup cherry tomatoes

4 garlic cloves1 1/2 bay leafs

1 tablespoon olive oil

 

Preparation:

Heat an 10" sauté pan to medium heat. Add the olive oil,  rough chopped garlic, cherry tomatoes sliced in half and white beans. Let this simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally.

 

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Place your chicken breasts on a baking sheet and brush on some olive oil and a grind of salt and pepper. Bake the chicken for about 20 minutes. As always the chicken is done when the juices run clear.

 

To serve, place a portion of the white beans and tomatoes on a plate. Place a chicken breast on top of the white beans and tomatoes. Garnish the dish with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of chopped Italian parsley.