By Popular Request: A Grilling Guide

A good friend and blogger extraordinaire has been asking be for a grilling guide. Well, here it is straight from ... Food Network! What?! I don't have a staff to write these things. Besides, if it ain't broke... Without further ado, Food Network's Ultimate Grilling Guide.

Tasteful, Not Labor-full Day

Ready for the three day weekend? I am thinking of just having a lazy day on the couch. Alright, enough with the crazy talk. Does anyone really believe I would miss the "last" grilling day of summer? Who knows maybe some friends will stop by. If you are having trouble deciding what to fix, here are some sites with recipes that are sure to please.

Burgers You can't go wrong with a burger. Sutter Home Winery has been running the Build A Better Burger competition since 1990. They have you covered whether you prefer beef, fish, veggies or the exotic in your burger.

Try out the 2009 finalist recipes before this year's winner is crowned.

Or the grand prize winners from previous years

Hot Dogs They seem to follow burgers everywhere.

Chicago Dog

Emeril's Hot Dog Bar

Venezuelan Hot Dogs

Grilled Dogs with Homemade Relish

Beer Simmered Hot Dog Bites

Cole Slaw

Pecans and Spicy Dressing

Creamy

Blue Cheese

Horseradish

Shrimp

Ginger-Soy-Lime Marinaded Shrimp a personal favorite
Steamed shrimp from your local seafood market tossed with Old Bay seasoning

Hop over to Food Network and check out their ideas for the day.

Chocolate Love

Who ever wrote the book of love must have smeared the pages with chocolate. Being a self confessed chocoholic, I know the satisfaction of a simple fudge brownie and the extravagant delight of a dark chocolate mousse.

Here is a recipe to satiate your desire to eat that cake batter on purpose. I have adjusted the recipe to use six ceramic teacups instead of ramekins. WARNING: Contents may be addictive. Consume at your own pleasure.

Chocolate Sinkholes

Serves 6 to 8


Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 large eggs
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Instructions

Melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over simmering water, stirring occasionally. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. You can do this in the microwave just by heating 30 - 45 seconds then stirring and repeating until completely melted.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.

Sift the sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside. Beat the eggs and vanilla in a medium bowl until frothy. Stir in the chocolate mixture until incorporated. Then slowly stir in the sugar-flour mixture just until everything is combined.

Divide the batter among six 7-ounce ceramic teacups or ramekins. Arrange the custard cups in a baking dish or roasting pan and fill the dish with enough cool tap water to come one-third of the way up the sides of the cups. (This water bath assures that the bottom portions of the cakes remain in a batter state.)

Bake for 34 to 38 minutes, until the tops are firm. Serve warm. I prefer them topped with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup.

Original Recipe from:

Desserts That Have Killed Better Men Than Me
by Jeremy Jackson

Grilled Pineapple Upside-down Cake

I love to grill and I love baking cakes. So I had to try the grilled pineapple upside down cake in the new book Weber's Way to Grill. I had the chance to make the cake for a party this past Sunday and received several compliments. My only problem with the current recipe is the amount of batter is not enough to fill the pan. I've since remade the cake with double the batter amounts and found it works a lot better than printed. Feel free to try it either way.

New Batter Amounts

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/3 cup buttermilk
4 large eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 lb (2 sticks) butter, at room temp
1 1/2 cups sugar

Get the full recipe with two others here: Weber fruit recipes

Chicken Salad PicNic

Looking for an inexpensive date this summer but don't want to look cheap. Try my elegant yet simple chicken salad recipe paired with some fresh fruit and your date will be impressed beyond belief.

Ingredients

• 13oz can Chicken breast, shredded
• 1 stalk celery, halved lengthwise & chopped
• 1 cup apple (Granny Smith or Jonagold), finely diced
• 1/4 cup almond slices (honey roasted if available)
• 1 cup Miracle Whip or mayo
• 2T honey mustard dressing
• 1T honey
• Salt
• Fresh ground pepper

When opening the can of chicken, pour it into a mesh strainer and rinse with cold water befre placing in bowl to shred. Use a fork to break the chunks of chicken into shreds.

Wash the celery stalk and chop a little bit off both ends. Cut the stalk in half down the middle then slice as fine as possible. If you can't get the slices very fine, don't worry; this only proves you made it yourself.

Peel, core and chop the apple. I will tell that each time I try this I seem to find a different way of getting the size dice I want. I start by slicing the cored apple to look like doughnut slices. Stack the slices then cut thin strips in one direction then again at 90 degrees.

Add almond slices. Mix and season with salt and pepper.


I like Miracle Whip but feel free to use mayo. Add the honey mustard honey and mix well. Season again with salt and pepper until the taste is to your liking. Want to class this up even more? Cut 2- 4 T fresh herbs (parsley, basil, tarragon) and add to salad.

Serve the chicken salad on your favorite bread. Normally, I go with toasted white bread but I was feeling adventurous and tried two new types: sourdough and a sweet italian roll. I did not like the sourdough because it over powered the salad, but the italian roll was perfect having a sweetness that was a nice compliment. Some other outstanding bread choices for chicken salad include croissants and brioche (loaf if you can get it).

Wrap the sandwiches in aluminum foil and take to your picnic.

To Brine or Not to Brine....

Trouble with food that comes out dry and not flavorful as you would like. Try a brine.

A brine is simply a salt water solution but any liquid can be used as the base. Brines work by osmosis bringing seasonings and added moisture into the brined meat. I will often use a milk-based brine for fried chicken.

Basic Brine
4 cups water (or liquid combination of your choice)
1/4 cup kosher or sea salt
1 T freshly ground black pepper

Going beyond the basic, you can be as creative as you like. Chopped garlic is makes it's way in to the majority of my brines; 2-4 cloves is a good starting amount. Other favorites are whole peppercorn varieties and dried oregano and basil. Apple juice in the place of water is good for pork or chicken; I'll share a new recipe for a apple juice brine very soon.

Try a brine for your next meal dish; I think you will be very pleased with the results. Even if you overcook your food (use a meat thermometer to avoid this), it will still have the flavor of everything you put in the brine.

Grilled Asparagus with Lemon & Garlic

If you like asparagus, you'll love this grilled version with lemon and garlic. If you don't, try it and prepare to have your taste buds blown away.

Ingredients

• 2 lb asparagus, ends trimmed
• 1 T chopped garlic
• 1/4 c chopped flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
• Kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil
  
  

Directions

Preheat grill to medium direct heat.

To trim the asparagus, bend one until it snaps. Use the snapped end as a guide to cut the ends off the rest with a chef's knife.

Lay out a sheet of aluminum foil two times as large enough to hold the asparagus; you are going to make a packet to put on the grill. For thin foil, double up the layers.

Place the aspargus on the foil. Season liberally with kosher salt (or sea salt if you prefer) and black pepper. Top with garlic and parsley then drizzle with the oil.

Toss with your hands. It's really fun! Top with lemon slices and close foil packet.

Place on grill for about 15 - 20 minutes. Remove and enjoy!