secret recipe club: mojito chicken tacos

for all of my regular readers, you've probably noticed i haven't been around these parts much in the last couple months. yes, i've been cooking - and even photographing a lot of it - and no, i don't have any big life announcement to make that sucked up all my time and would provide a reason for my absence. it's really quite simple: i've been spending a lot more time with the kiddo (and in less than three weeks, he turns one. my god time flies.) and jason and a lot more time away from the computer. and as much as i've loved it, i have been looking forward to my secret recipe club eats, as they give me a great excuse to get back on here, reminding me how much i enjoy sharing here.

grilled ginger soy glazed chicken

i've made this recipe a couple times in the last few months. the first, it was too cold to even think about grilling - i think there was snow on the ground - so i made the sauce on the stovetop, sauteed chicken thighs in a pan on the stove, and doused them with the sauce for serving. second, we grilled chicken thighs and the third, we grilled chicken breasts. (i say "we" since i never man the grill, that's jason's domain.) while the grilled chicken thighs were definitely the tastiest - since four of us managed to down 3+ pounds of them for dinner - breasts were a close second. my advice: use whatever chicken you have on hand and get grilling! there are only a couple weeks left of good weather. at least where i'm from.

sweet chicken & red onion kebabs

since we missed cinco de mayo for a party this year, we decided to celebrate cinco de julio instead. and served up this chicken kebab as the main dish. to serve 8 people, i made two and a half times this recipe and had plenty leftover.

the original rachael ray recipe also had quartered plums threaded onto the skewer with the chicken and onion. i tried the plums last summer. they were ok and not really worth it for me. if you love grilled fruit, go for it. i bet peaches (when they're finally in season in august, i can't wait!!) would be good too.

sweet chicken & red onion kebabs
adapted from everyday with rachael ray
2 hours start to finish (includes 30 minutes to marinate), serves 4

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup apricot jam/jelly/preserves/whatever your store carries
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders, cut into bite size pieces
2 red onions, quartered

1. make the marinade by whisking the oil, preserves, vinegar, and soy sauce together. in a large zip top bag, add the chicken and the marinade. massage the chicken to make sure each piece is coated. place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 4 hours.
2. remove the chicken from the marinade and alternating with onion pieces, skewer them.
3. grill over medium-high heat until the chicken is cooked through, about 12 minutes.

pork with pineapple salsa (and garden update)

before i get to today's dinner, i have tomatoes!

after last year's tomato fiasco (something, i suspect deer, ate my tomato plants down to nothing) it looks like i'm going to have some this year!

and leeks. this year's carrots look way better than last year's.



as long as i can keep the rabbits away, i'll have romaine in a couple weeks too.

i've also got peas, green beans, mesclun mix, potatoes, red onions, green onions, zucchini, and pumpkin working along nicely.

anyway, back to the pork.

i haven't been able to get a good red onion at the store for weeks. they're all mushy, dented, or have rotten spots in them. i don't know what the deal is, but it isn't good none the less. while this definitely would have been better with a red onion (and looked better in the photo), my vidalia worked fine.

here's a trick for those of you who don't want to fire up the grill, don't have a grill pan, or don't want to substitute a saute pan. use a george foreman grill. everyone i knew in college had one, so i'm sure many of you have one lying around too. i have an older model of this one, that's perfectly sized (big enough to cook 4 burgers at a time on it). my onion ended up in six slices, which i cooked first for four minutes. took it off and added the pineapple for four. took those off and cooked the pork for three, and cut up the onion and pineapple while the pork was cooking. it worked perfectly and was faster than heating up a saute pan.

and i bet this would be perfect with grilled apples and onions instead of pineapple. peel and slice the apple into rings, grill, and cut into bite size pieces, just like the pineapple.

pork chops with pineapple salsa
adapted from cooking light, march 2010
30 minutes start to finish (includes breaking down the pineapple), serves 2

4 thin cut pork chops
1/4 pineapple, cut into 1/2" thick rings
1 small red onion (or white onion if you can't find red), sliced into 1/2" thick rings
the juice of one lime
salt & pepper
non stick spray

1. in a bowl, add ~1 tablespoon of lime juice and the pork. let marinate while you cut up the pineapple and onions. don't worry about coring the pineapple slices when you cut them. it's much easier to remove them once they're cooked.
2. heat a grill pan over medium high heat (or see my foreman grill method above). grill the onion and pineapple about 4 minutes per side. remove from heat and when cool enough to handle, cut into bite size pieces. and place in a bowl. add the remaining lime juice and toss with the onion and pineapple.
3. cook the pork about 3 minutes per side.
4. serve pork with pineapple onion salsa.
   

asian flair turkey burgers

"when you're writing this up, do you give me any credit for grilling? or do you just skip over that part and talk about how good the food tastes!?"

that was the response i got after my teriyaki chicken kebabs went live last week. this week, here's my homage to jason and his grilling mastery.

he starts with lump charcoal (we skip the briquettes because of the binders holding it together. i don't know exactly what it's made of, but jason likes the lump better anyway). and puts a ball of newspaper in the bottom of the chimney. the top is filled with charcoal and the newspaper is lit. ten minutes later he's got hot charcoal without lighter fluid! and he's ready for my burgers.

this time turkey.

and surprisingly, not my idea.

it's way too early in the summer for me to be almost sick of burgers. but i am. i must eat about three times as much beef in the summer than i do in the winter. the addition of garlic, onion, soy sauce, and sesame oil was just different enough and yet still the same. perfect.

one word of warning - i let my onions and garlic go too long in my mini chopper. they were completely liquid with no chunks. sure, they incorporated well, but my burgers were soggy and really hard to put on the grill. luckily they didn't fall through the grill grates but it was a definite possibility.

asian flair turkey burgers
adapted from savorybites
30 minutes start to finish, serves 4

2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 pound ground turkey
1 egg
4 slices provolone or cheddar cheese (use american in a pinch)
4 rolls or buns

1. in a small food chopper or food processor, chop the garlic, onion, sesame oil, and soy sauce until it's very fine. if you don't have a food processor, chop the garlic and onion into very small pieces and mix in the sesame oil and soy sauce.
2. add the onion mixture to the turkey. add the egg. use your hands and mix until thoroughly combined.
3. grill about 5 minutes per side. serve with mayo and ketchup.

chicken & vegetable kebabs

there's something about grilled meat. and grilled onions. and grilled mushrooms. i could eat them every day in the summer.

this recipe is so unbelievably easy, i don't know if i can really call it a recipe. marinate chicken in some vinaigrette for an hour. toss whatever vegetables you want to add to the skewers in the same vinaigrette. skewer and grill. easy as pie.

mix it up. change up the vinaigrette to whatever you like (use a favorite store bought version). add vegetables you like. i would avoid is zucchini and summer squash, simply because it becomes very soft and is likely to fall off the skewer while grilling.

don't care for meat or prefer a meatless meal? skip the chicken altogether and add some portabello mushrooms. they grill perfectly.

chicken & vegetable kebabs
marinade adapted from the joy of cooking
1 1/2 hours start to finish, three hearty servings

for the marinade:
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
~1/4 cup chives, or any other fresh herb you have handy
salt & pepper

for the kebabs:
1 pound chicken breasts or tenders, cut into bite size pieces
12 ounces mushrooms, cut in half
1 vidalia onion, quartered and wedges separated
2 green peppers, quartered and cut into pieces

1. make the marinade by combining the garlic and vinegar in a very large bowl (you're going to toss the vegetables in it later). slowly add the olive oil, whisking continuously to ensure it's incorporated. mix in the chives or other herbs you're using.
2. add the chicken to a zip top bag. pour half the marinade over it. seal the bag closed and make sure all the chicken pieces are coated. marinade for about 30 minutes.
3. while the chicken is marinating, prep the vegetables bu cleaning and cutting them to size.
4. prep the grill right before you skewer the kebabs.
5. when the chicken is done marinating, toss the vegetables with the remaining (unused) half of the marinade.
6. skewer the chicken and vegetables and grill about 5 minutes on each side, until the chicken is cooked. for the ultimate summer meal, serve with a side of salt potatoes.

teriyaki chicken kebobs

finally! dust off your grills and stock up on charcoal. it's finally time to fire up the grill!

not that we haven't been for the last couple weeks. it's just that the weather in may is so fickle. the one thing you can count on is that the good weather won't last and you can't really plan for anything. which stinks if you want to grill after work. especially if you want to marinate something in the morning and grill it that night.

but june. june is different. the first half of june is all rain. rain in the middle of the night. rain in the middle of the day. while i love it for my garden, i hate it for keeping me held hostage inside.

last week we had a break from the rain. and i took full advantage of it.

i was already sick of burgers on the grill. and hot dogs aren't worth all the fuss. i love grilled onions, and since jason loves anything and everything asian, these teriyaki chicken kebabs fit the bill perfectly.

i mixed up the marinade and cut up the chicken into bite sized pieces the night before i planned to grill them and let the chicken marinate for about 20 hours. i know, i know, most cookbooks suggest three to six hours. but really, who is home in the middle of the day during the week to put their chicken in the marinade? not me. and it was perfectly fine after almost a day.

and really i only made a few slight changes to the recipe. i didn't have any open white wine, so i substituted water. easy exchange. like the original poster, i also keep a good sized piece of peeled ginger in my freezer. ginger is cheap, but i always forget to buy it when i need it. this way i always have it. but instead of thinly slicing it, i grate it with my fine microplane (the zester). works perfectly every time. i also didn't pour the marinade over the chicken (or baste it) as the kebabs were grilling. i avoid basting cooked food with liquid that had raw meat in it. it freaks me out (and probably doesn't help that on the next food network star last season someone, i don't remember who, got in big trouble because they suggested basting meat with a marinade).

see those perfectly caramelized chicken pieces and sweet onion slices? i may have put them together, but it was jason who pulled it off by cooking them perfectly. i gotta give credit where it's due.

i can't wait to use the marinade on grilled chicken breasts. or as a stir fry sauce.

teriyaki chicken kebobs
find the original recipe at Sortachef
30 minutes active time, serves two

for the teriyaki marinade:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
2 teaspoons minced or grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced

for the kebabs:
~1 pound chicken breasts or chicken tenders, cut into bite sized pieces
1 medium sized yellow onion (i bet red would be good too)

1. at least three hours and up to 24 hours before you plan to grill, make the teriyaki marinade by combining all ingredients. place the marinade in a zip top bag and place the chicken inside. seal the bag and make sure the chicken is evenly distributed and each piece is in the marinade. refrigerate until you're ready to grill.
2. on grill day, heat your grill to medium high.
3. slice the onion into relatively large slices. skewer the chicken and onion (be sure to soak wooden skewers in water for about an hour ahead of time so they don't catch on fire on the grill).
4. grill about 7 minutes, flip and grill an additional 7 or until the chicken is cooked all the way through.