Grilled Cauliflower

Grilled Cauliflower

(4 servings)

Ingredients:

1 large head Fresh Cauliflower

Canola Oil for grill

2 tbsp. Unsalted Butter, melted

½ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Rinse cauliflower and remove green leaves. Slice cauliflower into half inch thick or slightly thicker pieces. Do this by turning cauliflower on it's side and slicing across the core. This will give you cauliflower steaks to grill. Heat grill to medium-high and using paper towels and a tong, carefully pour oil onto paper towels and wipe the grill grates. Place cauliflower on grill cooking for about 5 minutes. Carefully turn cauliflower steaks over. Brush steaks with melted butter and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes before removing to a platter to serve.

Note: You can also just season the cauliflower steaks with salt and pepper. To help them stick to the cauliflower, brush steaks with oil or butter first.

Ideas for Future Efforts

Grilled Sweet Potatoes

Grilled Sweet Potatoes

(4 servings)

Ingredients:

1 ½ lb. Sweet Potatoes

Canola Oil for grill

½ cup Brown Sugar (optional)

Directions:

Wash, peel and slice sweet potatoes a little under a half inch thick (if potatoes are thin, slice on a bias). Heat grill to medium-high and using paper towels and a tong, carefully pour oil onto paper towels and wipe the grill grates. Place sweet potatoes on grill and cook for about 5 minutes. Turn potatoes and carefully top with the brown sugar and continue to cook another 4 to 5 minutes. Remove and serve with your meal.

Note: You could also serve potatoes with butter and/or pure maple syrup instead of using the brown sugar. They are actually great tasting just plain too.

Ideas for Future Efforts

How About Grilling Some Different Vegetables?

I believe most people think of asparagus, onions, green peppers and mushrooms when grilling vegetables comes up. But there are so many other vegetables to think about when it comes to grilling.  There are very simple recipes for some vegetables to more complicated ones.  The choices are truly endless.

There may be more but basically there are 3 methods to grilling vegetables.  One can put them straight on the grill grates which works well for many of them.  You can purchase a grill pan or basket that works well for the smaller cuts or a mixture of vegetables,  And you can always put the vegetables in a foil wrap or package to grill.

Some vegetables that are good for this grilling method include potatoes, large mushrooms, asparagus, tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, cauliflower steaks and onions.  One of the recipes for this week is "Grilled Cauliflower" and they are cut like half inch steaks so they hold together.  You could use the second method and cut the cauliflower up into flowerettes, but I prefer the steak type cut.  When grilling onions, it is best to cut them into thick slices and run a skewer through them so they hold together.  If using wood skews, make sure you soak them well before inserting through the onion.  In using this method, make sure to cut vegetables into large planks or thick slices so they don't fall through the grill grates.  The second recipe of the week is for "Grilled Sweet Potatoes" and these I cut into slices on the bias after peeling.

The second method mentioned was to use a grill pan or basket. The grill pan I'm talking about will have small holes throughout it.  This keeps the small cuts of vegetables from falling through while it lets heat in and juices dripping out.  The grill basket is a metal mesh connected to a wire frame.  I've used both and prefer the grill pan over the wire basket.  The reason is many of the grill pans are non-stick and easy to clean.  The same can't be said for the wire baskets I've tried.  They tend to be hard to clean unless you can find a non-stick one.

The last method is using foil to hold the vegetables while on the grill.  In my cookbook, "More Than Your First Cookbook" I have a recipe for "Potato & Onion Packets" that uses this method. Be sure to check it out, as they are delicious.  In this method you place all your vegetables in the foil and seal it so that everything stays inside the packet.  You can do individual packets or large packets to put on a serving platter after removing the contains from the foil packets.  This method allows you to put butter or sauces in the packets without worrying about losing it during the grilling time.  Remember when using foil packets to turn them more often to keep the vegetables from burning.  In fact, I will put the individual packets on a hanging basket rack that many grills have inside them and cook with the lid closed.  This really helps in keeping them from burning and opens up grill grate space for the main dish to grill.

There is another vegetable that everyone eats in the summer, corn on the cob.  Many people will drop  it in boiling water or microwave it.  Both work well, although I go for the microwave method if I'm doing corn in the house.  One, it keeps the house cooler, it's quicker and in my opinion tastes better too.  You can find the recipe for in the microwave in the "Sides" recipe tab above.  There is a video for a second way to do corn in the microwave worth watching above under the "My Favorite Links" tab.

I've a link below to some more grilling recipes for vegetables. They are a little more involved recipes but are fun and tasty. "Happy Cooking" until next week.

http://www.foodandwine.com/slideshows/grilled-vegetables?xid=DISH052314GrilledVegetables

Grilled Pineapple

Grilled Pineapple

(4 servings)

Ingredients:

1 large Fresh Pineapple

Directions:

Cut off the top and bottom of the pineapple. Next slice down the outside of pineapple from top to bottom removing outer skin. Cut the pineapple from top to bottom in half. Lay each half, cut side down, on cutting board and halve to make 4 sections. Along the inside of each section, cut off the center core and then cut each section in half again. This will give you 8 nice sized wedges. Place the wedges on oiled grates of a medium-high to high heated grill. Grill each of the 3 sides of the wedge for about 2 minutes each and serve as a side dish to your meal.

Note: If you have the tools or a store the sells pineapple already cleaned and cored, you could cut this into rings to grill. I would cut them a half inch thick and grill for about 3 minutes per side. Remember to make a quarter turn halfway through grilling each side

to create nice grill marks.

Note: Pineapple goes especially well with pork or chicken. Could also be served as a dessert with drizzled chocolate and/or ice cream too.

Ideas for Future Efforts

Grilled Bananas & Strawberries

Grilled Bananas & Strawberries

(4 servings)

Ingredients:

2 large Bananas, peeled & halved lengthwise

8 jumbo Strawberries, hulled & halved top to bottom

as needed Powdered Sugar (optional)

as needed Ice Cream (optional)

as needed Chocolate Syrup (optional)

Directions:

Oil grill grates and place fruit on them over medium-high to high heat cut side down. Grill both types of fruit for about 2 minutes and then make a quarter turn for nice grill marks. Continue to grill another 2 minutes and then remove to a cutting board. Cut banana into large chunks and strawberries in half again. Serve while warm over ice cream.

Note: The heat source and fruit may vary so adjust grilling time accordingly.

Ideas for Future Efforts

Grilled Marinaded Peaches

Grilled Marinated Peaches

(6 peaches)

Ingredients:

1 clove Fresh Garlic, minced

1 medium Shallot, minced

2 tbsp. Honey

1/3 cup Balsamic Vinegar

½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

as needed Salt & Black Pepper

1 tsp. Coriander, toasted & ground

¼ cup Fresh Cilantro (leaves only), chopped

1 medium Orange, zested & juiced

6 Large Fresh Ripe Peaches, halved and pitted

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together garlic, shallot, honey, vinegar and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper before adding the coriander, cilantro, zest and juice of the orange. Once well incorporated, add the peach halves to the marinade and leave at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes. Place peaches cut side down on hot oiled grates over medium-high to high heat for 2 minutes. Turn a quarter turn for nice grill marks and continue grilling another 2 minutes. You can turn the peaches over and grill the other side for about 2 minutes if desired (this part optional). Remove to a rimmed serving dish with marinade and serve with your meal.

Note: This dish goes well with pork or chicken dishes.

Note: If you want to serve peaches for dessert, just skip the marinade and grill the peaches as directed above in recipe. They really don't need anything to sweeten them. Serve warm with ice cream.

Ideas for Future Efforts

Have You Ever Grilled Fruit?

I'm sure you are all aware of dietitians always pushing us to eat more fruit and vegetables in our diets.  It really is a good thing but don't you get tired of eating fruit because they always taste the same.  Well I have news for you, grilling fruit changes the taste.

When you put fruit on a grill and cook it, the natural sugars in them change.  This creates a different flavor profile for that particular fruit your grilling.

I'm sure many of you have heard, if not tasted, of grilled fruit.  The most popular are probably pineapple, peaches and apricots.  Nothing wrong with these and if fact 2 of this weeks 3 recipes use the pineapple and peach (Grilled Marinaded Peaches" & "Grilled Pineapple").

But use your imagination and try other fruits.  Ever thought of grilling bananas and strawberries?  Well that is the 3rd recipe (Grilled Bananas & Strawberries") of the week.  You could make banana splits or strawberry shortcake with these grilled fruits.

There are other fruits out there to grill too.  Think of trying apple slices, pears and watermelon.  You  want to keep fruit pieces about 1/2 inch thick so they don't break or fall through the grates.

Another fruit to try is an avocado.  Yes it truly is a fruit.  Here you want to leave them in their skins.  Just cut in half and remove the pit.  Grill them cut side down.  They are great to just scoop out and eat.  But putting the grilled avocado in guacamole gives it a little different result.

The same is true for citrus fruits too.  Lemons, limes and oranges are a real treat to use after grilling.  Cut them in half and grill just the cut side.  Now juice them and you have a different result to your dish.

Please be brave and imaginative and try grilling some fruit this year.  That expensive grill of yours is not just for meat.  By grilling the meat and some vegetables with the fruit, your whole meal can come from the grill. That helps keep the house cooler too.

I'll talk about grilling vegetables next week.  Until then, "Happy Cooking" and let me know how you like grilled fruit.  Also share my blog link to your Facebook friends, co-workers and family. Thank you!