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Verbena Brined Pork Chops
Ingredients: 4 quarts water, 1 cup loosely packed verbena leaves (1/2 oz) or 1/2 cup dried, 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons salt, 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, 8 (1 1/2 inch thick) pork rib chops (6 pounds total)
Preparation: Bring all ingredients except pork to a boil in an 8 to 10 quart pot, then cool brine to room temperature. Add chops and chill in brine, covered, at least 8 hours. Remove chops from brine and rinse, then bring to room temperature (about 1 hour).
Cook medium heat on grill turning over occasionally about 15-18 minutes, or until thermometer inserted in chops registers 150 degrees.
Transfer chops to a platter and let stand, covered loosely with foil, about 10 minutes.
Barbecued Oven Chicken
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Butterfly chicken and place inside up on a baking dish. Spread 1/2 of the barbecue sauce over the topside of the chicken. Bake 1/2 hour. Turn chicken over and add remaining barbecue sauce. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Cook 1/2 hour longer.
Basic Beer-Can Chicken
Ingredients: 3-4 pound whole chicken, 12 ounce beer can
Preparation: Apply spice rub if desired and add salt and pepper to taste.
Stand chicken onto an open beer can filled halfway with beer so that the can is inside the cavity. Stand upright on grill. Grill covered over indirect medium heat until thermometer inserted read 175 degrees.
Blistered Zucchini, Squash, & Grilled Tomatoes
Ingredients: Olive oil (for brushing), 2 cups of yellow and green squash, 6 baby zucchini, and 6 medium tomatoes, halved through cores.
Preparation: Prepare grill high heat. Brush grill rack with oil. Brush squash, zucchini, and tomatoes with olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill until vegetables are blistered and slightly charred. About 6-8 minutes shifting occasionally. Transfer to platter.
Roasted Peppers with Garlic
Ingredients: 2 red bell peppers, 2 yellow bell peppers, 1 large garlic clove, 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Preparation: Preheat broiler.
Quarter bell peppers and discard stems, seeds, and ribs. Arrange peppers, skin sides up, on rack of broiler pan and broil about 2 inches from heat until skins are blistered, 8-12 minutes.
Transfer roasted peppers to a bowl and let stand, covered, until cool enough to handle. Peel peppers and cut each quarter into 2-3 strips. Thinly slice garlic and in a bowl toss with peppers, oil, and salt to taste. Marinate peppers, covered and chilled at least 3 hours and up to 3 days.
Southern Yellow Squash & Onions
Ingredients: 5 slices bacon, 5-6 small yellow squash sliced, 1 medium onion chopped, salt & pepper.
Preparation: Fry bacon until crisp, remove from skillet. Add chopped onion, cook until translucent. Add sliced squash fry stirring frequently until squash is tender. Season with salt and pepper. Crush bacon and add back to pan. Either yellow zucchini or crookneck squash work well in this dish.
Stuffed Pattypan Squash
Ingredients: 6 pattypan squash, 6 slices of bacon, 1/2 cup diced onion, 1 1/2 cups soft bread crumbs, 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, salt & pepper to taste
Preparation: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring one inch of water to a boil in saucepan over medium-high heat. Add squash, cover, and cook for 10 minutes, or until a fork can pierce the stem with little resistance. Drain, and slice off the top stem of the squash. Use a melon baller to carefully scoop out the centers of the squash. Reserve all of the bits of squash.
Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Remove bacon to paper towels, and set aside. Saute onion in bacon drippings. Chop the reserved squash pieces, and saute them with the onion for one minute.
Remove the skillet from heat, and stir in the breadcrumbs. Crumble the bacon, and stir into the stuffing along with the parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stuff each squash to overflowing with the mixture, and place them in a baking dish. Cover the dish loosely with aluminum foil.
Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until squash are heated through.
Cucumber Soup
Ingredients: 1/2 cucumber, 150g/5.5oz Greek yoghurt, 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint, small handfull crushed ice, salt and pepper, mint leaf.
Preparation: Place the cucumber, yoghurt, mint, and ice into a food processor and blend together. Season to taste with salt and pepper. To serve pour into a bowl and garnish with mint leaf.
Sweet & Sour Cucumbers with Fresh Dill
Ingredients: 2 cucumbers (1 1/2 pounds total) unpeeled and thinly sliced, 1 tablespoon salt, 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar, 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh dill, 3 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.
Preparation: Place cucumber slices in colander. Sprinkle with salt; toss to coat. Let stand 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, for dressing, stir vinegar, dill, sugar, and black pepper in a large bowl until sugar is dissolved.
Drain cucumbers will; pat dry. Add cucumbers to dressing and stir to blend. Refrigerate at least 15 minutes and up to 2 hours; serve cold.
Lime Cucumbers
Ingredients: 1 cucumber, 2 limes, salt to taste
Preparation: Slice cucumber. Spread the cucumber onto a plate and then cut the lime in half. Squeeze the lime all over the sliced cucumber. Add salt if desired
Tomato Zucchini Soup
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil, 6 garlic cloves chopped, 1 onion chopped, 2 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, 2 teaspoons basil, 2 teaspoons thyme, 4 medium zucchini cubed, 2 tablespoons white sugar, 1 tablespoons brown sugar, 4 cups V-8 juice, 1 cup heavy cream (optional), 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese (optional), salt & pepper.
Preparation: Heat oil in a large saucepan or pot on medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until softened and fragrant. Add basil and thyme, mix. Add the tomatoes, zucchini, white and brown sugar, mix. Add the V-8 juice. Cover allowing some steam to escape and simmer on low heat for 30-40 minutes. Add the parmesan, stir. Add the cream, stir. Ladle into big bowls, serve with slice of good sourdough bread.
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