3 Quarters Today

My Life, my photography, my passions

grilling

Grilled Kabobs, Food on a Stick

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Last week I got tired of the same old thing, grilled pork chops, chicken breast. I wanted something fun and different.  Shish Kabobs sounded fun, I even bought permanent metal skewers instead of the thin bamboo that burn and break in half. This means I have to fix Kabobs again, darn. (read sarcasm here)

What is it about food on a stick that is so tasty? Maybe it’s the lack of utensils, the youthful feeling you get just like when you sucked down a Popsicle sitting on the back step. Think about it corn dogs, Popsicles, and all kinds of state fair food are found on a stick. I’ll get to that on a later post.

Shish Kabobs on the Grill
Shish Kabobs on the Grill

Not really a recipe here.  It’s pretty much personal preference. I used chicken , pineapple, sweet peppers, mushrooms and pieces of corn on the cob.  After seasoning everything with a Garlic Rosemary mix I lathered it with a sweet Chinese sauce made from a mix of Dorothy Lynch (french) dressing, poppy seed dressing, soy sauce and ginger.

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Day 209/365: Grilled Yellow Zucchini

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Grilled Yellow Zucchini recips
Yellow Zucchini (My Olympus is back)

I’m the first one to admit that I don’t like yellow and green mushy vegetables. This includes squash, asparagus, and zucchini. But on the prompting of my good friend Beth, and my daughter who is a good sport about trying new foods, I have decided to expand my horizons. Nelson Farms is helping a great deal as they have a produce stand set up in the parking lot where I work all summer.

These were so pretty at the stand I just had to pick up a few and try grilling them. Because everything taste better grilled.

Grilling Yellow Zucchini
Grilling Yellow Zucchini

So, if I’m going to grill I’m going to use my new Pampered Chef grilling basket. Not knowing which way to slice these veggies, I tried the circles and lengthwise. After digging through my spice cabinet I picked two out, a vegetable supreme and a Mrs. Dash Tomato, Basil and Garlic mixture. Wasn’t sure what would be best so I just experimented by adding the herbs to some olive oil and coating both sides of the sliced zucchini.

Grilled Yellow Zucchini
Grilled Yellow Zucchini

Doesn’t it look delicious? I even impressed myself.  Still not too much of a fan of the mushy factor, but I did like the long skin side pieces. My son thought they tasted like weird tasting eggs, he wasn’t a fan. But I ate them all and would try them again with different seasonings.

Anyone have any ideas with what else to do with yellow zucchini?

Photography notes: I’ve brought out my Olympus E10 camera again. I have it handy at work (Hamilton Color Lab) so I can take photos of various projects for an upcoming new blog series. Yes I take photos of photos. Redundent isn’t it.

 

Day 187/365: Barbeque Chicken

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The Secret to Great BBQ Chicken
The Secret to Great BBQ Chicken

The answer…slow cooking. Many times I’ve ruined perfectly good chicken because I put it on the bottom rack, and even on low the fat dripped off and the flames singed and burned it to a crisp. Now I put the seasoned, naked chicken on the top rack and the burners on low, as low as they can go.

I let them cook for at least 30 minutes until golden brown, checking every 5 minutes or so, yes they take babysitting if you don’t want the chicken to burn, then lather with barbeque sauce.  Regardless of the desire to turn up the heat I don’t, I want the barbeque sauce to bake on, I turn it every 5-10 minutes watching for hot spots on the grill.

Only after I see that the chicken is cooked, juice runs clear (no I don’t use a thermometer) do I turn up the heat to caramelize the sauce. My favorite sauce is Cookies BBQ Sauce, it’s a staple in Nebraska barbeques, found locally in the Midwest and is the only sauce my kids will use. Heaven forbid if I buy something like Krafts.

Day 172/365: Grilled Pork Chops

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Grilled Pork Chops

Went to the grocery store and found these thick, center cut pork chops on sale for $1.99/lb, oh my are they delicious! Why in the world would you buy hamburger or ground beef for $3.49 a lb when you can grill a whole cut a meat instead. After liberally seasoning it with Patty’s Prime Seasoning and some pepper I threw it on a sizzling grill, seared it really nice then turned the heat down to let it cook.

Better than steak!