Teriyaki Marinated Grilled Strip Steak

Here's a good example of a re-do and improve dish. The steak marinated in teriyaki and grilled up beautifully. However, because I didn't have a few ingredients the end result and presentation was lacking. The next time I do this dish I will reduce a little teriyaki sauce and drizzle over the top of the steak and garnish with diced green onion and sesame seeds. 

 

Ingredients:

8 once New York strip steak

1/2 cup teriyaki sauce

Basmati rice

Diced green onion

Sesame seeds

 

Preparation:

This is a really easy meal to prepare. Take your steaks and put them into a Ziploc bag with 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce and let marinate a few hours, but overnight is better.

 

Prepare the rice in your rice cooker according to the directions, which is usually 1 cup rice to 1 3/4 cups water, a little salt and press start.

 

Heat your grill to medium high. Take the steaks out of the marinade and set them on a paper towels dry. The teriyaki flavor is in the meat so you don't need the sauce on the grill, the sugar in the teriyaki will just make the steaks flame up and burn..

Brush each steak with a little olive oil and add salt and pepper. I always grill steaks by the 2/2 X 2/2 method as follows. Place the steaks on the grill facing 45 degrees to one side and cook for 2 minutes. Rotate the steak 45 degrees to the other side and cook for another 2 minutes. After the second 2 minutes, turn the steaks over and repeat the process. After a total cooking time of 8 minutes, check the temp. When the steak hits 125 degrees, remove to a plate and let rest 5 - 10 minutes.

To serve, place a helping of basmati rice on a plate. Take the steak and cut into slices and spread across the rice. Drizzle the reduced teriyaki sauce over the steak and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. 

White Pepper Grits with Fresh Corn

I made white pepper and cheddar cheese grits back April and that was so good. This is pretty similar but traded the cheddar cheese out for corn that I had in the fridge.  

Ingredients:
1 cup grits
 2 cups water
1 cup 1% milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 cup cooked corn

Preparation:

Heat the water and milk up in a large sauce pan. Add the salt and white pepper. You may want to add another dash or two of white pepper, but wait until your all done with the grits, taste and then decide.

 

Add 1 cup of grits to the sauce pan and stir frequently with a whisk. As the grits cook they will thicken up and stop thickening when fully cooked. You want the consistency of the grits to be like a thick pancake batter. If the grits are to runny or thin, add another dash of grits. If the grits are too thick, add a little more milk. 

 

Toss in the cooked corn and let that heat up. Now is when you check to see if you need more white pepper. You want to taste the pepper, but not be overwhelmed. Serve with a little butter and chopped parsley for garnish.

Marinated Grilled Leg of Lamb Sandwich

The Ed sandwich from the Left Bank restaurant in Larkspur Ca. One of the best things I ever had off their menu and I probably had it 20 times when I lived in Ca. The combination of the grilled lamb, rustic sliced and toasted olive bread, arugula greens, mayonnaise and fresh ground salt and pepper is just unbeatable.

 

Ingredients:
Grass fed leg of lamb
1 sprig rosemary, chopped
8 cloves crushed garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
Rustic black olive bread, sliced
Arugula
Mayonnaise
Salt and pepper

Preparation:

I like using grass fed leg of lamb because it's generally a smaller cut of meat. Start by rinsing and drying the meat. Place the meat into a large Ziploc bag and add the chopped rosemary, crushed garlic and olive oil. Marinate a few hours for best results.

 

Grill the marinated lamb over medium high flame to char the outside. Turn the meat on the grill every few minutes until the internal temp hits 145 degrees which should take about 25 minutes for medium rare. Remove from the grill and let rest 10 minutes. You can see I like my leg of lamb pretty rare so I took mine off the grill at 130 degrees. When the lamb is ready to serve, slice into 1/4" slices for your sandwich.

 

To prepare the sandwich, slice the olive bread and toast. Take the bottom piece of bread and add some mayonnaise. Next, add some of the lamb slices and give a nice grind of fresh slat and pepper right on the meat. Take a little bit of arugula greens and the place on the sliced lamb. Lastly, add some mayonnaise top piece of bread and complete the sandwich.

 

Serve with a simple salad. Enjoy!

Orzo Pasta with Chicken, Spinach and Peas

Many nights I just make use ingredients I already have in the fridge. Elin always give me a hard time because I'll take every vegetable and meat out of the fridge and lay it on the counter to see what I have to work with. I'll pick and choose and end up making something like this orzo pasta dish, simply delicious!

1/2 pound Barilla Orzo pasta, cooked
1 diced chicken breast
1 cup sliced cherry tomato's
1/2 cup cooked peas
1/2 cup cooked chopped spinach
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tablespoon olive oil
Parmesan cheese
Red pepper flakes

Preparation:

Heat a 12" sauté pan to medium high and add the olive oil. Next add the diced red and yellow onion and cook for 2 minutes then add the minced garlic.

After a couple of minutes, add the cherry tomato's, peas, spinach and chicken. Cook until heated about 5 minutes. Lastly, add the Orzo pasta and toss until heated, about another 5 minutes.

Place and portion on a serving plate and drizzle with olive oil and top with a grind of fresh black pepper and parmesan cheese.

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