June 5: Grilled Beer-Butt Chicken with Baked Potatoes and Chioggia Beet Salad

Beer Butt Chicken. Such a lovely concept. We have heard that it is some of the most flavorful and most chicken there is. Since the weather was so great last Sunday, we decided to make a 2 lbs. bird. We followed this recipe that we found online.

We heated up the grill, and made the spice mixture -- both to baste the chicken with and to put inside the can of beer. Half the mixture went inside the can of beer, and the other half was left for us to baste the chicken periodically.


Melted butter, paprika, garlic salt, salt and pepper mix for basting.



"Discard half the beer." What are they, bananas? We're talking BANQUET BEER here. Paul took care of the "discarding."

We had some issues getting the chicken to fit standing up inside our grill. Not to get too graphic, but essentially the entire beer can had to be crammed inside the chicken in order for it to fit upright in the grill. Sorry, chicken. I didn't want it to be this way either.

Photo documentation:

He looks kind of sad. We put the baked potatoes in front of him in case he tipped over.

Alongside the chicken, we decided to make baked potatoes (cooked on the grill in front of the chicken), and a raw beet salad. We had received these cool looking Chioggia beets in our produce basket the week before.

WHOA.

We sliced the beets thinly using the mandolin.

A very careful action shot. The mandolin has wronged me before.

To the dressing, we added basil, rosemary, and some Italian parsley. We substituted low-sugar maple syrup in place of the agave nectar. 

Clipped fresh from the front porch plants!

Back to the Beer Butt. We cooked the chicken on the grill for about 1 1/2 hours. We basted it with the remaining sauce at about 45 minutes in. Here's how it came out.

Paul, master butcher.

The seasoning on the chicken was really good. It's a nice blend of spices without being overpowering. I'm usually not a chicken-skin eater, but I indulged this time because it was quite tasty.

We thought the chicken came out a little overcooked -- based on the recipe, we were thinking it would be 3 hours to cook through, but it was actually a lot less. I thought the grill had to be at 180 degrees -- not that 180 should be the chicken's internal temperature. A problem that pretty much could have been solved had I read the recipe again. Oops. Regardless, we thought the recipe called for cooking the chicken a lot longer than it needed. We probably could have gotten away with pulling it off at 1 hour 15 minutes or so (assuming the temperature was right -- it was definitely over 180 when we pulled it off at 1 hour 30 minutes).

(Quickly) Finishing up the salad, we plated the beets underneath, and then added a small handful of greens, some chopped walnuts and the dressing on top.

So colorful!

The salad was very earthy and crunchy. It was definitely unlike anything I had eaten before. Were we to make something like this again, I think I would slice the beets more thinly. I would also probably add more orange juice and a little less walnut oil. Paul did not mind the walnut oil, but agreed with adding more citrus. We also went a little overboard with the fresh herbs -- I would not use as many, and I would eliminate the rosemary. I felt like it dominated the dressing a little.

Grilled chicken and a baked potato. I am a happy camper.

Can we discuss how amazingly good baked potatoes are? Add some shredded cheddar, sour cream and chives, and I could eat one every day. Paul was not so pleased with the outside of the potato -- he thought the texture was a little weird.

The meal was relatively simple to make, especially after a Sunday morning/afternoon spent busy with work. You do need to keep an eye on the chicken, but it's not a time-consuming meal to prepare. We will definitely be making this again.

May 10: Grilled Flank Steak with Chimichurri, Bean and Corn Casserole

Paul and I were really excited about making a chimichurri sauce, using the parsley from our herb garden (read: three pots of dying plants on our front balcony). We decided to make a grilled flank steak as our protein, and use the sauce as a marinade. I found a recipe in my fave book, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, for an easy chimichurri sauce.

To accompany the steak, we went back to the book for an Enchilada Style Baked Black Beans and Corn. (Note: the base recipe is listed at the top of the page, but we made the modifications for the version listed at the bottom of the left column for the enchilada style recipe.)

As per usual, I forgot to take photos until everything was assembled. We used a jarred salsa instead of a homemade version. We layered the salsa, the drained black beans (2 cans), the cubed Monterey Jack cheese, and topped it with the crushed tortilla chips and queso fresco crumbles. This went into a 400 degree oven.

Tortilla chips, beans and two types of cheese? Yes, please.

Paul got to work on the chimichurri sauce. He added 2 cups parsley, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 3 cloves of garlic (we used jarred minced garlic) and 1/2 cup olive oil. 
 

We spread the sauce on the steak (we had bought a 2 lb. flank steak), and let it rest for about 30 minutes, turning it periodically to coat in the marinade. 
 

I whipped up a quick avocado and mango salsa to go with the steak. The avocados were a little overripe, but they still tasted good. 
 

Ignore the brown spots. When it comes to avocados, I will eat these regardless of how brown they are.

Chopped up the mango we had...
 

I mixed everything up with a little diced red onion. 
 

Paul cooked the steak on the grill for about 6 minutes on each side. We covered it with aluminum foil and let it rest for about 10 minutes before slicing.


Extreme close-up, a la Wayne's World. Whooooooooooaaaa!

The bean and corn dish cooked in the over for about 30 minutes. We topped it with some chopped cilantro. 
 

Obligatory melty-cheese close-up...

Paul put his excellent plating skills to good use...

We really liked how this turned out. The steak was cooked to the right temperature for me, and wasn't chewy (my main gripe with rare or medium rare meats). I think were we to make it again, I would marinate the meat longer so that it soaked up more of the chimichurri sauce. 

The bean dish, albeit a little unhealthy, was pretty good. We ate leftovers with chips as a dip later in the week, and as a filling for tacos. Paul sliced up the remaining steak, coupled with the bean mix made for a tasty lunch.

We're back!!

Friends, I acknowledge I have been slacking a little with the posts. My goal was to make at least five dinners at home each week, with three to four of them being blog-worthy (or at least a part of them being blog-worthy). I confess, there have been a couple of thrown-together, reheated meals over the last couple weeks. The grocery store hadn't seen us in a while, and it was getting depressing.

However, I am re-invigorated and re-inspired by a) the amount of delicious produce I saw at the grocery store this weekend (YAY! It's summer!) and b) a slight loosening of our schedule. 
 

This photo is supposed to represent summer. Even thought it was taken in October.

Paul and I made a rather aggressive menu for this week, so get ready! (This also makes me accountable when I usually say mid-week, "Let's just get some falafel sandwiches for dinner." NO. Internet, you are my witness.)

Sunday: Grilled Beer-Butt Chicken with Baked Potatoes and Chioggia Beet Carpaccio
Monday: Grilled Lobster Tails with Mediterranean-style Bok Choy 
Tuesday: Vegetable Salad and Curried Chicken from our cooking class at Naveen's Cuisine
Wednesday:  Carrot Soup with Cilantro, alongside Brie and Spinach Grilled Cheese
Thursday: Kale Leaves with Quinoa, Feta and Tomato
Friday: Bacon. And. Pea. Risotto. (I did that for delicious emphasis.)

Here we go!

May 11: Grilled Salmon Steaks with Sauted Leeks and Quinoa

I have been dying to make quinoa for a while now, but haven't been able to find any at our local grocery store. Last week, I saw it and snatched it up. I decided to use the recipe for Quinoa with Caramelized Onions to go alongside some fresh salmon we picked up as well. In How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, they suggest replacing the 4 medium onions with 1 1/2 pounds of leeks, which is what I opted for. It's not a super quick cooking recipe, but it's pretty simple to cook. You follow the exact same recipe, just replacing the vegetable.

P.S. Leeks are not fun to clean. My new preferred method is (assuming you are using chopped leeks) to trim them down until just a little green remains, chop the white parts, and submerge them in a bowl of water. Lots of dirt gets stuck in the layers, and it is hard to get out unless the layers are separated.

Cook the leeks for about 20 minutes. Add the olive oil and brown sugar and cook, stirring occasionally for another 10 to 15 minutes. You toast the quinoa for a few minutes, and then add in the vegetable stock. Bring everything to a boil.

Here's what it looked like:

I remember thinking, "Those quinoa are small. Will they puff up? Is Paul going to be starving in like 10 minutes?" Nope and nope.

After it is boiling, add a couple sprigs of thyme, and reduce heat to low. Cook, covered, for about 15 minutes. 

Paul added salt and pepper to the salmon steaks and cooked them on the grill, heated to about 350 degrees.  It was a while back, but Paul thinks he cooked them for 6 to 7 minutes per side.

I had to ask Paul what to call these. "You know those salmon you cooked that have like the feet?" Paul: "You mean the steaks?" This is why we are married.

We added the salmon to a bed of the quinoa.


Oops. We forgot to eat a vegetable side with this dinner.

We really liked how this tuned out. The quinoa was nutty and caramelized from the brown sugar. I'm looking forward to trying this with onions to see how it turns out differently. Leeks are kind of creamy, so I wonder if it will be sweeter using onions.

Paul liked cooking these salmon steaks better than regular filets as well. You do have to avoid the bones a little, but it cooks up really nicely. I think with it being a thicker cut, you don't run the risk of overcooking it as much. 

May 25: Craft Beer Week!

We've had a little slow down in posts, but should be back to normal next week. Tonight, we tossed together something quick in order to high-tail it over to Map Room to check out what they're serving for Craft Beer Week!

May 1: Grilled Chicken with Pesto-Yogurt Potato Salad and Beet Green Salad

We had our friends Kyla, Alex and Roxy over for dinner, and decided to make some grilled chicken, with a beet green salad and pesto-yogurt potato salad as our sides. I wanted to highlight this potato salad because 1) it tastes good 2) it's easy to make and 3) it has no mayonnaise, so it's a good recipe to bring to an outdoor barbeque.

You begin by quartering red potatoes. I cut up a 3 pound bag of potatoes to make this batch, which was more than enough for dinner for four (and a half), as well as two nights of leftovers for us two.

Lots of mysterious shadows in this photo.

Boil the potatoes until they are fork-tender. Strain them out of the boiling water, and then put them into a large bowl.

While the potatoes were cooking, I made the pesto. You can certainly use the jarred/pre-made stuff if that is easier. I made our pesto from what we had in the house -- leaves and stems from our basil plant, some pine nuts, minced garlic, olive oil and Parmesan cheese.

Once your pesto is ready, combine it with the warm red potatoes and 1 1/2 cups of Greek yogurt.

Here is the final product...

You can serve this room-temperature, cold or hot. It's good regardless.

Here is the salad alongside the beet green salad and the grilled chicken.

And here it is the next evening alongside grilled salmon and zucchini halves. 

This time around, I think we could have added more pesto, but to be honest -- I am not sure if we added as much as the 1/2 cup as suggested by the recipe. The Greek yogurt is nice and tart and really adds a different dimension to the potato salad. Depending on the Greek yogurt you buy (or it could be all Greek yogurt -- I am not completely sure), this is a gluten-free recipe as well for all our friends with celiac.

May 17: Greek-inspired Quinoa with Feta and Avocado

So, I (once) thought it would be a good idea to rip recipes that I found delicious out of my magazines. Fast-forward four years and two moves later, and I have a random pile of magazine clippings that I'm not sure what to do with. I ended up buying a binder and trying to sort through everything so I can actually utilize these recipes when I'm looking for something new to cook. Hence this new-found (and much loved) quick dinner recipe.

First, you cook 1/2 cup of quinoa in water (I just followed the directions on the package for the timing and ratio of quinoa to water).

We were originally concerned about the amount of quinoa this recipe called for, but it ended up being plenty.

While that cooked, I mixed a dressing of 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a little bit of kosher salt. 
 

The base of the quinoa salad is a handful of chopped spinach leaves, 2 chopped and seeded Roma tomatoes and finely diced red onion (maybe about 1/3 of a cup? I usually eyeball it).

I tried to dice the onion as small as possible. I love red onion, but make these pieces too big and you'll have some kickin' onion breath.

Once the quinoa is done, you mix it in with the vegetables. The warm quinoa softens up the spinach leaves. You then mix in the lemon/oil/salt dressing and stir everything together.
 

You prepare a bed of larger spinach leaves on the plate.  

You add the quinoa on top of the spinach leaves, and top with crumbled feta and some avocado.

You don't need to use as much avocado as I did. I definitely used an entire one just for myself, which is plain ridiculous.

Both Paul and I really enjoyed this dish. It was simple and quick to make. We're also trying to eat meatless at least twice a week, so this is something to add to our stock of meat-free recipes (which currently consist of veggie tacos, pasta, and stir fry with tofu.)

It's really only the feta that makes this "Greek-inspired," so I imagine if you changed up the ingredients, you could make it a couple different ways:

• Blue cheese crumbles with the same ingredients -- would be similar to world's best salad
• Manchego cheese shavings and pepitas for more of a Spanish flavor
• Queso fresco or Chihuahua cheese and black beans for a Mexican dish

I'm excited to try this a few different ways!