Simple Pots

March 5, 2008 — 2 Comments

Fingerling Potatoes

Maggie Used:
Fingerling Potatoes
Salt
Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

With a pile of fingerlings, who needs fancy? Step aside and enjoy their true flavor. After the pots were scrubbed, cleaned and halved, Maggie popped them in a large piece of foil that would act as a snuggy bed for them to do their magic. Before she closed and crimped the edges, she whipped out the extra virgin olive oil to slather up the potatoes. Adding the two secret herbs and spices, salt and pepper, chopped garlic was added. Crimp the foil into a pouch and it’s grill time. Depending on the heat of the coals, by the time it takes to polish off two glasses of champagne and catch up with the latest American Idol scandal (that guy had gay stripper written all over him. Hot, baby, hot!), check the fingerlings as they are most likely close to done. These simply prepared pots with the smoke of the grill were a total hit. Heated up the next day in Mrs. Microwave Yo, they still had that amazing flavor. I’ve also prepared the pots with an oil mister, which lightly kissed the fingerlings with oil, still resulting in divine potatage yet forgiving to the waistline. I’ve tried two oil misters. The first was the Misto Gourmet. This is a fancy, sleek little number that got me all hot and bothered with its fancy spray. The romance ended a few weeks later when the light spray quickly turned to a steady piss of olive oil. The new mister, the RSVP Endurance (condom or oil mister?), seems to be consistent and reliable, but we’re still in the honeymoon phase.

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Sweet, Yummy Duck Breast

January 29, 2008 — 2 Comments

A united blend of spice, sweet and moist with fun texture that leaves boredom to no tongue.

You Need:
Duck Breast
Sweety, goopy stuff (Emily used a jammy marmelaide)
A little salt and pepper

skin side down

Rub some of that sweet goodness on the duck breasts. Place them skin side to the grill and cover. When they shrink up and brown and are firm to touch, pull them off.

goopy sweet and raw

oooOooooooo nice duck

Dessert Tamales

January 1, 2008 — 1 Comment

Delicate, sweet goodness all snug in its own little wrapper.

You Need:
Masa … the ol’ “golden cornflour”
Dates
Azuki Beans (sweetened red beans)
Banana Leaves
Buttah

masa masa mixture

The masa part:
Quite simple really. Pop some masa in a bowl, like a cup or so. It’s like making pancakes with Bisquick, you add melted butter until the consistency is compactable were you to make a tamale. Add the azuki beans.

The wrapper part:
The banana leaves are long, long LONG. Carefully tear them into squares, they’re just wrappers so no need to be particular.

banana leaf and emily

The tamale part:
Grab a hand full of masa mix, stick a date surprise in the center. Grab some more masa mix to form a cute, little, rectanglish thingo. Pop that down in the center of the banana leaf square and wrap ‘er up. Usually pull one side over, tuck in the bums and roll to the other side. A tamale is born. So cute and impressive.

middle wrap. huh-huh huh huh it's like a jungle tuck in the bums

Pop that on the grill for a bit and flip once. You want it to be steamy warm. Good job. Grab some champagne, girlfriend.

Three Pizzas On The Grill

November 29, 2007 — 1 Comment

Pizza on grill

Grilling pizza seems an odd concept to grasp at first, but once you do it, there’s no going back. Rachel whipped up some lovely pizza. Here are the bits and pieces she laid down.

Figgy one

Pizza One:
Figgy, Cheesy, Hamness
This was the best pizza of the three. Maybe even the best pizza I’ve ever had. I don’t even like figs unless they’ve been Newtoned and still it was yummy. It was more complicated than the other two only in that you had to mix stuff into the Ricotta, no biggie.

bring me some figgy

You need:
Some ripe figs
Blue Cheese
Ricotta
Fresh basil
One little bit of a Garlic bulb
Prosciutto

Fold and pile leaves chop girl

Cut the figs in half. Done with figs.
Chiffinade the basil ( or “Bah-zil” for the commonwealth ). Itsy bitsy the Garlic. Then, smoosh the Garlic with the basil with a bit of salt. Mix the pasty stuff in with the Ricotta. That’s your sauce. Put that on first and pile the rest on top.

premelty pizza

Pizza Two:
Simple, basic pizza with a little punch.

You need:
Fresh mozzerella
Basil
Tomato Sauce
Cappicola (this is the punch)

Nothing fancy here. Lay down the sauced. Invite the ham to join in. Pop on the mozz and basil, presto.

simple pizza

yummmmmmm

Pizza Three:

A little something for the veg heads. Rachel took advantage of the heat and grilled up the veggies first, then readied the dough.

grilled veg

You need:
Eggplant
Some pretty looking pepper (or capsicum. We’re here for you Australia)
Pesto
Balsamic vinegar
Fresh mozzerella

soft and grill like

Debitter the eggplant with a little salt, pepper (or “salper” as an old friend used to say) and vinegar. Rachel got a little carried away with the quick pour vinegar and still it was lovely. Grill ‘em up and set aside. When you’re ready to top, pesto first, veg then cheese. The grilled veggies were AMAZING. I thought it would take awhile to get soft and flavored, but oh no, it was quick. I love heat.

Salper the eggplant hot hot hot eating pizza

Grilled Pear

November 10, 2007 — 2 Comments

This grilled pear thing was a total first kiss. It’s fall, there were pears and we went with it. Taking three sacrificial pears, we messed around to determine what seemed tastiest.

Pears
Balsamic vinegar
Walnuts

Model A
The halved pear. Leave the skin on.

Model B
The shaved pear. Whole pear, no skin

Model C
The pear. Skin and all its pearness.

Directions:
Put pear on grill. Take it off when it’s dark, handsome and looks less firm. A little poke might help determine readiness.

Only you can decide how you like it. For this girl on the grill, the whole pear triumphed hands down. It was warm, juicy and sweet. Yum.

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Presentation and Eatery:
Once cooked, cut the pear in half and place on a plate. Spew balsamic vinegar around the edge of the plate for the eater to drag a bit of pear through (it’s funner that way). Make it perty with some walnuts. Grab your champagne and sit back to take all the compliments.

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Lamb Burgerettes

November 9, 2007 — 2 Comments

Lil’ Bo Peep lost her sheep and finally got around to find them. Still holding a grudge, got pissed one night and made lamb burgers.

Ground Lamb
Parsley
Onion
Egg
Salt
Pepper

Here’s a simple one, easy to shop for and you get all medieval with the egg.

Forplay:
– Chop the parsley leaves, uh. Choppin’
– Chop the onion into itty bitty bits
– Standby egg

It’s on:
1. Throw down the ground lamb and get dirty.
2. Make a cute little volcano to dazzle your friends.
3. Put the egg in the hole. Ta da!
(good time to ask friend for a sip of champagne)
4. Squidge the volcano, continue to massage until everything is well mingled.
5. Sprinkle parsley on top. Work it.
6. Set in the onion play some more.
7. Make small patties and place on a plate ready for the grill.
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Once cooked, the vehicle for eating these babies are limitless. We popped the bugerettes in a mini, whole wheat pita with a dab of chevre and some red leaf lettuce. Though a high risk for being sassed, a few drops of ketchup is also yummy.

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