Fresh Tart

I posted a chimichurri recipe here once before, back in February of 2011, upon returning from a trip to Costa Rica. I fell into a deep craving while on that trip, eating the local twist on this classic Argentian sauce on everything that I touched. While the recipe that I posted is bright and snappy, I've grown to prefer this version, mellowed with salt water (salmuera) via the fantastic cookbook Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way by Francis Mallmann.

Not only is this sauce a perfect way to use up bunches of fresh parsley and oregano from the garden, it sits nicely in the fridge for 2-3 weeks, improving with age. Spoon it over strips of steak or vegetables hot off the grill, wrap in fresh corn tortillas, and feast away. Or, make everyone's favorite potato salad by tossing still-warm new potatoes, boiled in their jackets, with the chimichurri and showering the whole with chopped hard-cooked eggs. While the sauce is traditionally served with beef steak, it's equally delicious served with grilled chicken or fish.

Happy grilling 4th everyone!

Francis Mallmann's recipe for Chimichurri at TC Taste/Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

These butterflied shrimp are more of a technique than a recipe, a simple way to grill truly shrimpy shrimp.

Shrimp shells are where the flavor is at - even if you're preparing shelled shrimp for a salad or pasta, keep the shells! Either freeze them in an airtight plastic bag or make quick batches of stock as you go and freeze the stock. Use the stock to make risotto, soup, a simple pan sauce...wherever you add it, it's an incredible punch of flavor for very little effort.

Or especially during grilling season, just cook the shrimp in their shells. To not have to fuss with skewers, or with peeling hot shrimp (which is a bit of a pain), remove the legs from large shrimp (U15), then with a small, sharp knife, split them lengthwise down the middle without cutting all the way through the shells. Remove the vein that runs down the middle (running them under cold water makes the process go quickly) and press gently on the shrimp to flatten them. I set them on a baking sheet as I go, dry them all with paper towels when I'm done, then drizzle them with olive oil on both sides. I then sprinkle them very lightly with salt and grill over medium high heat until the shells are pink and the flesh is completely opaque, usually about 3 minutes per side.

Serving suggestions at TC Taste/Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

Every Sunday, Nathan and I eat our way through Kingfield Farmers' Market. If you follow me on Twitter, then you know that one of our faves is Foxy Falafel. Erica Strait and her crew crank out the best falafel I've ever had. Made from sprouted chickpeas, perfectly crisp and fresh, the falafel is nestled atop crunchy slaw and creamy hummus (I order mine without the pita). Add Foxy's amazing signature sauces and perfect pickles and holy man. So much goodness going on in each bite - heaven!

Erica is also a personal chef and caterer, with a whole catalogue of delicious recipes. She was generous enough to share her popular Herby Chicken Skewers with Cucumber Mint Yogurt Dipping Sauce recipe with me. John and I inhaled these babies, bursting with summer flavor, hot off the grill and swiped through the cool sauce. Foxy recipe at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

The play of hot against cold, tender against crunchy, preferably with a salty-sweet vinaigrette, hits enough texture and flavor notes to transform a simple salad into a meal. Use this recipe as a formula to play with all summer long, as other vegetables come into the market.

My recipe for Grilled Asparagus Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

I posted this recipe a few weeks ago at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine.  It may be mid-October, but it's still warm enough to grill & chill outside.  Strange, but we'll take it, so go for the grill - yes!

Warm sun, cool breezes, my favorite time of year has arrived!  Open windows, evening walks, the first smells of woodsmoke, ahh.  I particularly enjoy eating outside without sticking to my chair.

And I'm grilling!  I'm grilling everything!  I figure there's plenty of time for soups and stews - for me, these last warm days are for cooking over fire.  If you're a bit burgered out, these grilled shrimp tostadas are a light change change of pace, easy enough to pull together for a weeknight din.  Nothing says sunshine like hot shrimp with cool avocado, finished with a spicy, crunchy slaw and plenty of fresh lime.

If you don't love shrimp, use halibut or snapper instead.  If you don't love tostada shells, substitute soft tortillas.  This recipe is as chill as a September evening.

Grilled Shrimp Tostadas with Spicy Slaw
Makes 4 tostadas

1/4 c. + 1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice (from 1-2 limes)
zest of 1/2 lime
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 jalapeno, halved lengthwise, sliced thin (use the seeds if you want extra heat; discard the seeds if you don't), divided
salt
1 lb. raw medium-to-large shrimp, peeled & deveined
1 tsp. sugar for sprinkling
2 c. shredded cabbage
1/2 sweet onion, sliced thin
1 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. sour cream
1 Tbsp. taco sauce
1/2 tsp. chipotle chili powder

warmed crunchy tostada shells
1 avocado, mashed with a pinch of salt
chopped cilantro
crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese

Preheat grill.  In a large bowl, whisk together 1/4 c. lime juice, lime zest, olive oil, garlic, cumin, 1/2 of the sliced jalapeno, and 1/2 tsp. of salt.  Add the shrimp to the marinade and stir to coat the shrimp.  Set aside for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, add cabbage and onion to a medium bowl.  In a small bowl whisk together remaining 1 Tbsp. lime juice, mayonnaise, sour cream, taco sauce, chipotle chili powder, remaining 1/2 sliced jalapeno, and 1/2 tsp. of salt (or more, to taste).  Pour half of the dressing over the cabbage and toss to coat.  Add a bit more dressing if needed.  Sprinkle with more salt if needed.  Reserve remaining dressing as a garnish for the finished tostadas.  Refrigerate slaw.

After the shrimp have marinated for 15 minutes, thread them onto skewers and discard remaining marinade.  Sprinkle the shrimp lightly with the sugar.  Grill sugar side down for 4 minutes.  Turn and grill for another 2-3 minutes, or until shrimp are cooked through.

Spread warmed tostada shells with avocado.  Top with shrimp, slaw, chopped cilantro, and crumbled cheese.  Serve immediately.

Happy Labor Day!  Are you stopping by for a little last-minute holiday cooking inspiration?  I have to confess that this day rather snuck up on me too - denial that summer is ending, I suppose.  If you're running to the market today, wanting to pull something festive together for later this evening, here are some quick-to-make ideas:

Pork Tenderloin Tacos, easy to pull together, fun to eat, great for a crowd
Souvlaki, more pork (as you know, I do love pork), packed with flavor and everyone's favorite, especially with copious amounts of grilled naan or pita bread
Perfect Burgers, topped with whatever your heart desires, nothing more to say
Summer Tomato Soup, since it's a bit chilly out there, alongside Grilled Corn - a meatless meal, straight from the farmers market
Grilled Steaks with Herb Butter feel decadent and celebratory, but are really easy and fast to make (shhh!)
Farmer's Market Potato Salad, substitute green beans for asparagus, enjoy the delicious basil vinaigrette for weeks on everything
Gazpacho with Poached Eggs Over Potato-Green Pepper Pancakes, my personal fave lazy-day meal of the season

And for dessert, Blueberry Kuchen, baby, The Dessert of Summer 2010! It's my dear friend Susie's recipe, and won the Kingfield Market Berry Bake-Off when I submitted it earlier this summer.  Substitute other fruit for blueberries (as my friend Kelli at I Had A Delicious Time beautifully did) if you like.  Plums, peaches, apples...just don't forget the whipped or ice cream to melt over the top, mmm.

No matter what you make or eat, enjoy the end of summer, friends. Here's to a lovely fall!

I posted this recipe a few weeks ago at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly magazine.

Here's a light, refreshing take on the familiar chicken skewer.  While the chicken marinates in wine, heat the grill and chop the cucumber, olives, and herbs.  Grill the skewers, grill some bread brushed with olive oil, serve with the rest of the bottle of wine you opened for the marinade.

That's pretty much it.

Use the same marinade for pork or fish - you'll find it's fantastic.  Finely dice other combinations of vegetables (or fruits) and herbs.  Keep it simple.  Always finish with a drizzle of excellent olive oil.

This is how to eat in the summer.  Agree?

Chicken Skewers with Chopped Cucumber, Arugula, & Olives
Adapted from La Cucina Italiana Magazine August 2010
Serves 4

These skewers are delicious with grilled bread - drizzle thick slices of crusty bread with olive oil, sprinkle with coarse salt, then grill slices on both sides until lightly browned.

1 3/4 lbs. boneless chicken thighs with skin on, cut into 1-inch pieces (Stephanie's note: skin-on boneless chicken thighs are not readily available; I've used both boneless, skinless chicken thighs and breasts to excellent result)
1/2 c. dry white wine
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary

Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil

1 c. finely chopped peeled and seeded cucumber (from 1 medium)
1/3 c. fine chopped arugula
1/3 c. finely chopped pitted Kalamata olives
3/4 tsp. finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

In a large bowl, combine chicken, wine garlic, and rosemary; stir to combine.  Cover and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

Thread chicken onto skewers; drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Grill skewers 4 minutes/side, turning once, until chicken is just cooked through, 8-10 minutes total.  Transfer skewers to a large plate.

In a small bowl, stir together cucumber, arugula, olives, thyme leaves, and red pepper flakes.  Spoon mixture over skewers.  Drizzle with more olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.

I posted this recipe a few weeks ago at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly magazine.  May I suggest adding a pat of herb butter to your grilled steaks?  The butter melts over the hot beef, of course, pooling with the steak's juices to create an obscenely addictive sauce.  It's a classic bistro presentation, alongside pommes frites, and is so delicious that you'll soon be adding pats to everything.  Grilled fish, boiled new potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, crusty bread...on and on, all improved by that gorgeous green butter.  Simple.  Divine.  Mon Dieu.

Dinner tonight?  Could be...

Grilled Steaks with Herb Butter
Makes a litte more than 1/2 c. of butter; recipe doubles nicely

steaks (your favorite cut)
Kosher salt (or other coarse salt; not table salt)
1 stick (1/2 c.) cold butter
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 small shallot, chopped
1/4 c. chopped fresh herbs (any combination you like of basil, parsley, rosemary, sage, oregano, chervil...)
zest of 1/2 lemon
dash or two of Tabasco sauce (optional)

One hour before grilling, sprinkle coarse salt generously on both sides of the steaks.  Cover lightly and let sit at room temperature while you heat the grill and prepare the butter.

Put butter, garlic, shallot, herbs, lemon zest, and Tabasco sauce (if using) in the bowl of a food processor.  Process until butter is smooth and uniformly green.  Taste and add salt as needed.  Lay a sheet of plastic wrap on the counter.  Add the butter in spoonfuls to create a long log, about 1-inch by 8-inches.  Roll the plastic wrap around the butter and gently roll the log of butter back and forth on the counter, to make the log relatively even and round.  Twist off the ends of the plastic wrap to seal and put the butter in the freezer to firm it up.  (Butter can be made 2 days ahead; chill in the refrigerator, covered.)

Heat the grill.  Thoroughly pat the steaks dry with paper towels.  Grill the steaks to desired doneness.  Just before the steaks are done, slice off several 1/4-inch thick slices of butter.  Top hot steaks with a pat of butter and serve.  (Leftover butter will keep for a week in the fridge, a month in the freezer.)

Greek food and I had a shaky start, which is hard to imagine given how much I love it now.  My first exposure to a fully-loaded gyro - hours into my freshman year, University of Wisconsin-Madison, with my just-met roommate -  completely freaked me out.  So much garlic, with yogurt on meat (wha?), and juices running everywhere...my inner North Dakotan fainted a little bit.  Where are my parents?  Who is this girl I'm living with?  Why doesn't she shave her legs?  What am I doing?  I wasn't ready for feta cheese, not yet.

But after a couple of months of cardboard dorm food, and far too many pizzas, I started to crave food with...flavor.  I fantasized about going home for Thanksgiving dinner when it had never meant anything to me before.  I started exploring flavors outside of the Americanized Mexican-Italian-Chinese food I'd grown up with.  On a whim, I succumbed one hungry afternoon to the intoxicating smells from the falafel cart outside the UW Bookstore and ate the best sandwich I'd ever tasted.  Emboldened, I hiked back to the gyro place and got hooked on Greek salads and that damn sandwich, tender and spicy and dripping with yogurt, yeah.

And then...then I met Mary Pappas, almost 20 years ago, and my love of Greek food was cemented.  Mary would bring Greek treats - made by her mother-in-law and Yaya (grandmother) - into our office to share.  We would shamelessy attack and devour them.  Our staff birthday lunches often took place at It's Greek to Me, or Christo's, or Gardens of Salonica, and as a group we would eat obscene amounts of our favorite mezze, namely warm pita slathered with taramosalata, melitzanosalata, skordalia, and htipiti.  When I was pregnant with Nathan, Mary threw me a baby shower and had her mother-in-law and Yaya prepare all the food (I'll never forget that party, The Best, sigh)...spanikopita, pastitsio, meatballs, salad, baklava, on and on...

So many happy memories.  Which now include my son!  Was it the amount of Greek food I ate at the end of my pregnancy, including that shower?  Whatever the reason, he loves it, and I'm thrilled.  Sharing a favorite dish with a child is an incredible experience.  Overall, we have many more misses than hits, but Greek food in general, and souvlaki (below) in particular, are now among his favorites.  Garlicky grilled pork, wrapped in warm pita bread and topped with tzatziki, the yogurt sauce that scared the crap out of me way back when.

The marinade is delicious with chicken too.  Serve with rice instead of bread to change things up.  Make extra marinade and toss with tomatoes, zucchini, and red onion - skewer and grill alongside the meat.  Use leftover sauce to make this tomato-feta sandwich for lunch the next day - also fabulous.  Lots of variations - have at it!

For more pork grilling ideas, and a whole menu for a Memorial Day barbecue (pork ribs, crunchy-creamy coleslaw, & strawberry shortcakes), check out my post this week for Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly magazine.  I've got grilling pork on the brain - but only because the options are deliciously endless.

Souvlaki
Serves 4

Note: you can marinate the pork for up to 24 hours before griling.

2 lbs. pork tenderloin or pork loin, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 Tbsp. olive oil, plus more for the bread
3 Tbsp. red wine
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. coarse or Kosher salt, plus more for the bread
several grinds of freshly ground black pepper
2-4 loaves of pita bread (I like the flatbread loaves, not the pocket bread; I actually use the 365 brand of naan at Whole Foods)
Tzatziki (recipe below)

Put pork into a large Ziploc bag.  In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients and pour over pork.  Seal bag, massage the marinade into the pork a bit, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.  Heat grill.  Lightly brush or rub olive oil onto both sides of the pita bread.  Sprinkle one side lightly with salt.  Skewer pork loosely on metal or soaked bamboo skewers (discard Ziploc and marinade).  Grill pork for 5 minutes on each side, or until pork is cooked through (do not overcook for optimum tenderness).  Transfer skewers to a cutting board and let rest while you grill the bread.  On the still-hot grill, lay bread on the grate.  Grill for a couple of minutes on each side, just long enough to leave grill marks and soften/heat the bread.  Remove pork from skewers and serve with the warm bread and tzatziki.

Tzatziki
Makes about 1 cup

1/3 c. grated peeled cucumber
1 Tbsp. grated onion
1 Tbsp. minced fresh dill
2/3 c. Greek-style yogurt (Fage is an excellent brand)
salt and pepper to taste

Stir all ingredients together in a small bowl and chill.  Keeps for up to one week in the refrigerator.

It's going to be 90 sultry degrees here in Minneapolis on Sunday.  Ugh.  I'm not going to complain (is "ugh" a complaint?), but I'm not quite prepared for that level of heat and humidity.  Guess I'll just have to grab a cold beverage and head out to the grill...tough, I know.

If you're looking for something to sear, I suggest:

The whole barbecued chicken I posted below.
Any of the multiple burgers I posted a year ago (including several vegetarian ideas).
My tips for great hamburgers.
The miso-glazed salmon I posted at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly a couple of weeks ago.
These delicious grilled lemon shrimps on toasts.
The Korean-style grilled beef I posted last week.
Tandoori chicken skewers, so good with grilled naan.
My favorite way to grill vegetables - chapa-style.

Or...apparently I've had grilling on the brain these last few weeks...these pork tenderloin tacos, first posted at Dara & Co/Minnesota Monthly.  If you missed 'em, here's what I said:

I crave spicy pork—especially carnitas, or slow-braised pork shoulder, pulled apart, then roasted until crispy at the edges. Rolled into a soft corn tortilla... It's beyond. While not difficult to make, a three-hour braise is too long for a weeknight dinner, so when a craving hits on a Monday-to-Friday, I pull off a cheat of sorts.

Also delicious, yet ready in 30 minutes: Thin slices of spicy pork tenderloin make a similarly porktacular (yes, I did just say porktacular) tortilla filling. Add your favorite carnitas garnishes. I like the contrast of creamy avocado slices with the crunch and heat of diced jalapeno and red onion. Add crumbled queso fresco (or feta), chopped cilantro, and a squeeze of lime to finish it all off. Flavor explosion, that’s the goal. Serve with corn or flour tortillas—your choice, just make sure they're fresh and warm.

I grilled the pork on a Superior Planks cedar plank, which I wrote about for the printed magazine.  As you can see from the pic, I didn't follow the instructions and lit the plank on fire.  A little pork-n-cedar inferno, right there on my deck.  Despite the fire - which I easily put out with a bottle of water, it really wasn't a big deal -  the pork was delicious (you can see that it was unharmed, just nicely crusty).  Grill your pork on a plank (perhaps without lighting it on fire), or directly on the grill, or on a grill pan inside the house.  All fabulous.

Pork Tenderloin Tacos
Serves 3-4

1 pork tenderloin
1 tsp. each minced garlic, ancho chili powder, cumin, oregano, and coarse salt, mixed together in a small bowl with enough olive oil to make a loose paste
warm corn or flour tortillas

Suggested Garnishes:
avocado slices
chopped cilantro
chopped red onion
chopped jalapeno pepper
sour cream (thinned with a bit of cream for drizzling)
crumbled queso fresco (or feta) cheese

Preheat grill.  Smear herb-paste all over the pork tenderloin.  Grill pork over high heat for approximately 10 minutes or until desired doneness.  Let pork rest on a cutting board for at least 5 minutes (keep in mind that the pork will continue to cook a bit more as it sits).  Slice thinly and serve in warm tortillas with garnishes.  (Note: while pork cooks, prepare garnishes.  While it rests, warm tortillas, wrapped in foil, on the still-hot grill for a few minutes.)