Grilled Polenta and Balsamic Mushrooms - week 33 of 52

This is the last week of “Grilling in August” and found this recipe online on MarthaStewart.com. I love mushrooms and have never tried polenta – I wanted to try something different.

Polenta originated in Northern Italy and is cooked cornmeal. It can be served either in porridge-like form or cooled to form a cake. The polenta was very easy to make (just like making oatmeal) but be careful when cooking - while cooking, the polenta can sputter and jump out of the pan when still in porridge form (and can hurt!). I refrigerated the polenta overnight and then cut into triangles for the recipe. It’s supposed to be refridgerated uncovered, but that will dry out the top and form a little “crust” - I cut that off before grilling.

The balsamic mushrooms were delicious but I wasn’t crazy about the polenta – even with the balsamic dressing, it was little flavourless. I have quite a few pieces left and may try it with some tomato sauce and parmesan cheese for a light meal. The mushrooms would be great with some goat cheese served over some greens.



Grilled Polenta and Balsamic Mushrooms – courtesy Martha Stewart
$$
Mushrooms ****
Polenta **
Ingredients

Balsamic Mushrooms and sauces Serves 4.
• 6 portobello mushrooms (about 1 pound), stems and caps separated, halved if very large
• 2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 teaspoon coarsely chopped fresh thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
• 1/2 cup homemade or low-sodium store-bought chicken or vegetable stock
• 12 pieces set polenta (about 1/2 batch) Basic Polenta (Soft or Set), cut into 1-inch-thick rectangles or triangles (I’ve substituted with polenta recipe from Canadian Living below)
• 2 cups arugula (2 ounces)
• 8 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano, shaved


1. Toss portobellos with garlic, herbs, salt, pepper, vinegar, and 1/4 cup oil in a large bowl. Let stand at room temperature, tossing occasionally, for 1 hour.
2. Transfer portobellos to a plate. Pour marinade into a small saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 minute. Add stock. Raise heat, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Stir in remaining tablespoon oil, and remove from heat.
3. Preheat grill to medium-high. (If you are using a charcoal grill, coals are ready when you can hold your hand 5 inches above grill for just 3 to 4 seconds.) Lightly brush top and bottom of polenta with oil, and place in center of grill. Cook, flipping once, until polenta is marked, crisp, and no longer sticks to grill, 6 to 8 minutes per side. Meanwhile, place portobellos on cooler part of grill, and cook, turning frequently to avoid burning, until tender, about 10 minutes.
4. Place arugula on a platter, and arrange polenta and portobellos on top. Drizzle about half the sauce over portobellos. Top with Parmigiano-Reggiano. Serve immediately with extra sauce on the side.

Polenta – courtesy Canadian Living
• 2 cups chicken stock
• Pinch of pepper
• 1 cup cornmeal

1. In a large saucepan, bring stock, 2 cups of water and pepper to boil over high heat. Gradually whisk in cornmeal until thickened.
2. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring often with wooden spoon for 10 to 15 minutes or until hard to stir and grains are soft.
3. With rubber spatula, scrape into 11 x 7 inch baking idsh, spreading evenly. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 1 hour or until firm or for up to 24 hours.

Grilled peaches - week 32 of 52

Week 3 of grilling in August is cinnamon-grilled peaches, courtesy of Bobby Flay, king of the grill. (Bobby, if you're reading I'm a huge fan and love your "Throwdown" show!) A meal is not complete without dessert and fresh Ontario peaches are now in season – seemed like a no-brainer!

This is a very easy recipe which involves making a caramel-like sauce for the peaches and then grilling. When making the sauce it seemed quite frothy/foamy at the beginning, but eventually will become thicker and caramel like.

When choosing the peaches, I used peaches that were just ripe because grilling will make the peaches a little softer so too ripe peaches will become mushy. I changed the recipe a little and skipped the step with the cinnamon sticks.

The taste is really good! The grilling will add juiciness and extra flavour to the peaches – don’t even consider serving without ice cream. That is a must!
I will be making this again this summer before peaches are out of season (or will need to find creative ways to cook a basket of leftover peaches)!

Bon appétit!


Cinnamon-grilled peaches

$

Rating (out of 5) ****

Ingredients
• 4 large ripe freestone peaches
• 8 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
• 8 fresh mint leaves
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup dark rum
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch salt
• Peach or vanilla ice cream,for serving

Directions

Rinse the peaches and blot them dry with paper towels. Cut each peach in half and discard the pit. Then, cut each peach into quarters. Using a pointed chopstick or metal skewer, make a starter hole in the center of each peach quarter, working from the pit side to the skin side. Skewer 2 peach quarters on each cinnamon stick, placing a mint leaf between the 2 quarters.

Combine the butter, brown sugar, rum, cinnamon, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Let the glaze boil until thick and syrupy, about 5 minutes.
Prepare and preheat the grill to high. Brush and oil the grate. Next, place the skewered peaches on the hot grate and grill until nicely browned, 3 to 4 minutes per side, basting with the rum and butter glaze. Spoon any remaining glaze over the grilled peaches and serve at once. Peach or vanilla ice cream makes a great accompaniment.

Grilled mahi mahi with tropical fruit salsa - week 31 of 52

"What is mahi mahi?" was my first thought when I read this recipe. "Sounds good but I have no idea what it is." I went to my local grocery store and found out it’s a pale pink colour fish with silvery gray skin. Wikipedia tells me it’s a fish found in tropical and sub-tropical waters.

Mahi mahi is often served with some sort of tropical fruit salsa. I've never grilled fish so wanted to try this in the second week of grilling in August.

The fish was easy to find at the grocery store and comes with skin on. After marinating with skin on, I threw the fish on the grill and it didn`t stick (I was nervous about that happening). Make sure the grill is well greased and be patient. Don't try to flip the fish until it's cooked - if you try to flip before it's done, the fish will stick (I know)! The fish turned out really great! The fish is denser and "meatier" than I expected, but excellent.

The fresh tropical salsa is the perfect touch - you can add some heat as well (jalapeno pepper to taste). The cold fresh salsa + mahi mahi + coconut = delciousness! This is definitely a recipe that is a repeat and perfect for the summer!

Bon appétit!

Mahi mahi with tropical fruit salsa – recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens, New
Grilling Book

$$

Rating (out of 5) ****

4 5-6 ounce fresh or frozen skinless mahi mahi
½ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons toasted seasame oil or olive oil
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 cup fresh pineapple, chopped
1 tablespoon snipped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon lime juice
¼ cup red onion, chopped
2 tablespoons toasted coconut

1. Thaw fish, if frozen. Rinse fish; pat dry with paper towels. Place fish in a shallow dish. Combine soy sauce, honey, oil and ginger. Pour over fish; turn fish to coat. Cover; marinate in the refrigerator 30 minutes turning over once.

2. For salsa, in a medium bowl stir together pineapple, cilantro, lime juice and red onion. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

3. Drain fish, discarding marinade. Lightly grease or lightly coat with non-stick cooking spray a grill basket. Place fish in greased grill basket, tucking under any thin edges.

4. For a charcoal grill, grill fish in basket on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium coals for 4 to 6 minutes per ½ inch of thickness or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork, truing basket once halfway through grilling. For a gas grill, preheat grill. Reduce heat to medium. Place basket on grill rack over medium heat.

5. Serve fish with salsa. Sprinkle each serving with coconut.

Classic Greek Salad with Grilled Calamari - week 30 of 52

Classic Greek Salad with Calamari

Summer = grilling. The month of August will be dedicated to recipes on the grill! This recipe was on Food Network with some great reviews from other foodies – good job Bobby Flay! I love seafood and in particular, am a big fan of calamari, but have never prepared it. It was not easy to find fresh calamari and I had to go to a couple of seafood stores in order to find it. Make sure it’s fresh and doesn’t smell “too fishy” – too fishy is generally an indication that it’s not too fresh.

The recipe is super easy, but a little garlicky for my taste. Definitely take Bobby’s advice and cook no longer than 2 min on each side on a med-high grill otherwise you’ll end up with super chewy calamari. As well, while waiting for the calamari to cook, throw the salad in a fridge to chill. No one likes room temperature salad (and by no one, I mean me!).

This is a fresh recipe, perfect for the summer. You will get about 4 meal-sized salads.

Bon appétit!

Classic Greek Salad with Calamari – courtesy of Bobby Flay
$$
Rating (out of 5) ****

Ingredients
• 20 wooden skewers
• 10 small whole calamari, cleaned, tentacles removed
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for grilling
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 lemon, juiced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tomatoes, seeded and cut into chunks
• 1 medium red onion, sliced thin
• 1 medium cucumber, sliced thin
• 1/2 pound feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted
• 1 head romaine lettuce, torn into bite size pieces
• Lemon wedges, for garnish
• Fresh oregano leaves, for garnish

Directions

Soak 20 wooden skewers in water for about 20 minutes. Rinse the calamari tubes and pat dry. Split the bodies from top to bottom so you have 2 triangular pieces. Thread a soaked skewer through the length of each piece. Put the skewers on a platter and set aside. To make the vinaigrette, whisk together the oil, vinegar, garlic, dried and fresh oregano, thyme and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Pour 1/2 of the vinaigrette over the calamari; set the other 1/2 aside while you make the salad.

In a large bowl, add the tomatoes, onion, cucumber, cheese, olives, and romaine. Pour the remaining vinaigrette over the salad and toss to combine. Let marinate while you grill the calamari.

Heat the grill or a grill pan and oil it lightly. Grill the calamari for 2 minutes on each side, no longer or they will be tough. To serve, put the salad onto a large platter and top it with the calamari skewers. Garnish with fresh oregano leaves and lemon wedges.

Lemon Meringue Pie - week 29 of 52

Lemon meringue pie is one of my favourite desserts – I love sweet tartness of the lemon curd and the light fluffy meringue. I don’t have time to make these so the supermarket version is a substitute for homemade. However, the supermarket pies always seem to have some sort of artificial “gluiness” about the curd and the meringue not quite fluffy enough and a little tough.

This week’s recipe is courtesy of Anna Olsen and definitely one of my favourite from the foodie experiment so far! The lemon curd was fresh and tart, the pie crust a little crunchy & flakey and the meringue light as air that melts in your mouth! This recipe takes a little time so if you’re planning on serving for dessert after dinner, I would suggest starting to make it in the morning – there are many steps so patience is definitely required!


A couple of tips:
- Although Anna suggests using two knives to cut butter into the flour for the crust, I suggest getting a pastry blender, otherwise you will be at it for a while
- Keep an eye on the lemon filling while it is cooking, because it goes from thin and watery to thick very quickly! You don’t want the filling to stick to the pot
- I decreased the amount of sugar to 1 cup as I like my filling a little more tart than sweet
- When making the meringue use room temperature egg whites to get a lot of volume (cold egg whites don’t beat as well)
- I left out cornstarch from the meringue – I wasn’t sure how it was going to blend into the meringue (was it going to get lumpy?)
- I used superfine sugar vs regular granulated for the meringue - it will dissolve much more easily

I will definitely be making this pie again – this one’s a keeper!

Bon appétit!



Lemon Meringue Pie – courtesy of Anna Olsen

$

Rating (out of 5 stars) *****

Makes 1 x 9-inch pie

For crust
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 2/3 cup unsalted butter, diced and chilled
• 1 large egg
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

For filling
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• 1 ½ cups water
• 5 Tbsp cornstarch
• 5 large egg yolks
• dash salt
• 1 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest
• ½ cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter

For meringue
• 5 large egg whites
• ½ tsp cream of tartar
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch

1. For crust, combine flour, sugar and salt. Cut in chilled butter until a rough crumbly texture and little bits of butter are still visible. In a small bowl, whisk egg and lemon juice. Pour all at once into flour mixture and combine just until dough comes together. Shape dough into a disc and chill for at least one hour.

2. Preheat oven to 400 °F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to just less than ¼ inch thick. Sprinkle a 9-inch pie shell with flour and line with dough. Tuck in rough edges and crimp (pinch) with your fingers. Put pie shell in freezer just for 10 minutes to rest and firm up. Once chilled, line pastry with aluminum foil (and have foil hang over crust edges to protect it) and weigh down with pie weights, dried beans or raw rice. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 375 °F and bake 15 minutes more. Remove aluminum foil and weights and bake 10 minutes more, to dry out center of the shell. Cool completely before filling.

3. For filling, whisk sugar, water, and cornstarch in a heavy-bottomed saucepot. Whisk in egg yolks and salt and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, whisking constantly. Increase heat to medium and, still whisking, cook until filling becomes glossy and thick, about 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and strain. Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice and butter until butter dissolves. Pour immediately into cooled pie shell and let cool 15 minutes. Chill completely before finishing with meringue, about 4 hours.

4. For meringue, preheat oven to 350 °F. Whip egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. While whipping, gradually pour in sugar and whip on one speed less than highest until whites hold a stiff peak (the meringue stands upright when whisk is lifted). Whisk in cornstarch and dollop over chilled lemon filling. Use sweeping motions with your spatula to create swirls and peaks that look so enticing once browned. Bake pie for 10 minutes, just until meringue browns lightly. Let pie cool or chill until ready to slice

Blueberry Clafouti - week 28 of 52

Clafouti is a baked French dessert which is like a flan, often made with cherries. As wild blueberries are in season right now, I decided to make a blueberry clafouti. Wild blueberries from the market are sweeter and more flavourful than the blueberries from the supermarket – definitely worth the couple of extra dollars.

Although the recipe was very easy, the end result was not really great. The texture was a little tough and clafouti not very flavourful. It was little like day old pancakes.

This is one of the few recipes will I will not make it again, but will try to find a better version.

Bonne appétit!


Blueberry Clafouti

$

Rating (out of 5) *

Ingredients
• 1 1/2 pints blueberries, washed and drained
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• Pinch fine salt
• Powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place blueberries in the bottom of a small rectangular glass pan (about 8 by 10 inches).
In a medium bowl, crack eggs and whisk lightly. Add sugar and continue whisking until mixture thickens and is pale yellow. Add milk and vanilla; whisk to combine. Add flour and whisk to combine. Add a pinch of fine salt and whisk to incorporate. Pour mixture over berries.

Bake on the center rack of the oven until the clafouti has puffed and the center bounces back when lightly pressed, about 45 minutes, rotating once.
Remove from oven and let cool slightly before cutting. Slice into 8 equal pieces and gently remove from pan with a spatula or cake server. Dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately.

The Ultimate Sangria - week 27 of 52

The Ultimate Sangria

Happy Canada Day everyone! Nothing is more Canadian than celebrating July 1st with a BBQ and friends.

This weekend I went to a couple of BBQs and brought a sangria. The quest for a good sangria came shortly after my birthday weekend. The sangria we had were terrible and watered-down – nothing more than chilled wine with some fruit dropped in as an afterthought. I knew I could make something better! I found this one online and it had excellent reviews and decided to try it.

This was a hit at both parties! This is really the ultimate red wine sangria! The thing that makes this sangria better than most is the fact that you have to let it set overnight with the citrus, the let the flavours blend. This is the big difference versus most restaurant sangria where they just drop the fruit in right before serving. Don’t worry about spending lots on the wine – a $10 bottle of red will do since you’ll be adding to it and changing the flavours.

A couple of things:
- Serve with skewers of fruit or skewers so people can get the wine-soaked fruit at the bottom of their glasses
- I left out gin & triple sec & sugar and the sangria was great
- 1/2 of can of pineapples was enough (1 full can may be too much)
- This is best served ice-cold – LOTS of ice

This Sangria recipe is perfect for big summer parties – bon appétit!




The Ultimate Sangria

$$

Rating (out of 5) *****

Ingredients:
• 1 Bottle of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Rioja, Zinfandel, Shiraz)
• 1 Lemon cut into wedges
• 1 Orange cut into wedges
• 1 Lime cut into wedges
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• Splash of orange juice or lemonade
• 2 Shots of gin or triple sec (optional)
• 1 Cup of raspberries or strawberries (may use thawed or frozen)
• 1 Small can of diced pineapples (with juice)
• 4 Cups ginger ale

Preparation:

Pour wine into a large pitcher and squeeze the juice wedges from the lemon, orange and lime into the wine. Toss in the fruit wedges (leaving out seeds if possible) and pineapple then add sugar, orange juice and gin. Chill overnight. Add ginger ale, berries and ice just before serving. If you'd like to serve right away, use chilled red wine and serve over lots of ice. However, remember that the best Sangrias are chilled around 24 hours in the fridge, allowing the flavors to really marinate into each other.

Cheers!