type='text/javascript'/> A Latte Talk: Foody Friday - Grilling

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Foody Friday - Grilling

It's almost Summer! Grilling is my favorite Summer food option.
A few years ago, we only had a charcoal grill (many husbands out there would say "hooray!" to charcoal grills). I know, I know... the taste is superior. Blah blah blah.

Methinks gas is better because we turn a knob, push a button, and viola! the grill is ready. We use it 10 times more often than we used our charcoal grill, and I think it tastes fine. :)

So. I'm gonna go with a somewhat time-intensive recipe for my grilling recipe. Honestly, most of the time, I sprinkle chicken breasts with garlic salt and throw them on the grill with some veggies. That's my standard, not much of a recipe.

So here's a great, yummy yummy recipe. Mmmm... Great served with pitas and hummus. Last year it got 50/50 reviews from my kids (One loved it, one didn't).

Grilled Ratatouille

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 yellow or red Grilled Bell Peppers
1 medium eggplant (about 1 pound)
1 small onion, peeled and quartered
Balsamic-Herb Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, grilled*
12 mushrooms
2 small yellow zucchini, halved lengthwise
1/3 cup slivered fresh basil leaves

1.Spray medium glass casserole with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. To make basting mixture, combine 2 tablespoons vinegar with oil in small bowl; set aside.
2.Remove strips of peel from eggplant, lengthwise at 1-inch intervals, and remove ends. Slice eggplant into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Thread eggplant and onion quarters onto metal skewers; baste. Grill on covered grill over medium coals 20 to 30 minutes or until grill-marked and tender, basting and turning every 10 minutes. Meanwhile, grill bell pepper skin side down on grill for 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool and remove skin.
3.Meanwhile, heat oven to 325°F. Prepare Balsamic-Herb Vinaigrette. Remove eggplant and onion from grill. Cut eggplant into 1/2-inch strips; place eggplant and onion in prepared casserole with Balsamic-Herb Vinaigrette. Cover loosely and place in oven to hold.
4.Grill cherry tomatoes. To grill mushrooms, thread whole mushrooms onto 2 or 3 metal skewers; baste mushrooms and cut sides of zucchini. Grill mushrooms and zucchini on covered grill over medium coals 10 to 15 minutes or until browned and tender, basting and turning once. Remove from grill; cut zucchini into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Add zucchini and mushrooms to eggplant mixture.
5.Dice bell peppers; add bell peppers and tomatoes to eggplant mixture. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar and basil. Garnish, if desired.

Balsamic-Herb Viniagrette

Mix below ingredients in a small bowl:
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves or 1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves or 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon black pepper

ENJOY!

Linky below:

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10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ok, so I don't have a blog, but I have enjoyed reading yours and looking at the recipies .. and thought that it was about time that I would contribute. So, here is my contribution it is a marinade for grilled chicken. The recipe was given to me by my aunt when we got married 5 years ago. I used to serve it with the Zataran's Carribean rice mixture, but I haven't been able to find it this year :( I have improvised with baked sweet potatoes instead.

Here is the recipe:

Marinade for Grilled Chicken
½ C soy sauce
¼ C oil
½ C pineapple juice *
1T brown sugar
1t garlic salt
1t dry mustard
2t ginger

Bring to a boil and then simmer for 5 minutes. Cover pan and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. When marinade is cool, add raw chicken to pan and let marinade for at least 2 hours before grilling. Best if marinated overnight. Or freeze the raw chicken in the marinade to use later. Grill on low heat. Make extra marinade to use with vegetables to grill as well.

I also like to make a double batch and freeze it for later.

* I tend to buy the smaller (6 oz) containers of pineapple juice because I always seem to through away the rest of the juice if I make it from a frozen concentrate container.

Enjoy!

Michelle R

J mom said...

I am looking forward to some new ideas. Does anyone know how to grill asparagus? I want to try it!

Jenny said...

Michelle! Thanks for posting that... I'll be trying it :) I'm so glad you participated!

Mandy- grilled asparagus is pretty easy, the hardest part is not dropping them through the grill... I just toss with olive oil and s&p, and throw them on... all lined up, perpendicular to the grate, of course :) Not for very long... maybe 5 minutes. Just until they're a little tender. I don't like mushy asparagus. Until Yvette posted about her parmesean topped asparagus, grilling was my favorite way to do asparagus!

If you have a grill pan, that's even easier. We don't.

Shari said...

Hiya! A friend of mine passed on this great marinade for shrimp. It does have a kick to it with the pepper.. so if you want it milder for the kiddos just lessen the pepper.
By the way, I tried a couple of the recipes from last week.. super yummy!

Mrs.Naz@BecomingMe said...

That sounds so yummy!!

Elena said...

This sounds great. Father's Day is coming up and I think I will try this for his special day!

Anonymous said...

Here is another marinade that I like to use often in the summer. It as well freezes nicely!

Romanian Steak
½ Cup A.1. original steak sauce
2 Tbsp Grey Poupon Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 – 1 ½ lb. Boneless steak

Mix. Place in metal/plastic container. Refrigerate 4 hrs or overnight. Grill. Discard marinade.

Kelly @ Love Well said...

That sounds AMAZING. I can't wait to start grilling in earnest.

Annika said...

I enjoy Foody Friday! One can never have too many recipes :)
Annika

Yvette said...

This is fun. I can't stop. Now, I need to plan for this Friday. Do we have a theme? Sorry, I'm a planner. :)