Vegan – Vegetarian

Just “desserts” — Grilled Peaches and Ice Cream

~ The Blind Guy Cooks ~ Leave a comment

Here is an insanely easy dessert that is a perfect end to a day of grilling. Serve these with a white port or icewine and your guests will be talking about this dessert for a long time. You might call these S’mores for adults. Here is all you need:

Ingredients

Peaches – I prefer white flesh peaches. Make sure they are not too ripe.
Brown sugar
Vanilla ice cream

Directions

Heat grill to medium heat. Quarter peaches and sprinkle with brown sugar. Place peaches on grill skin side down. Grill approximately two minutes. Flip peaches to one of the cut sides and grill an additional two minutes. Flip to other cut side and grill another two minutes. Remove from grill. Place three to four peach slices in a bowl and scoop ice cream on top. Enjoy!

A Cheesy Side Dish: Corn Casserole

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Here is a simple and quick side dish for your next cookout. In my family it is sometimes described as a cup, a cup, a can, a can, a stick. Read the recipe and you’ll see why. It is also a very filling comfort food that pleases all. This side goes well with any barbequed food.

Ingredients

1 C Elbow macaroni
1 C Velveeta cheese (cubed)
1 Can whole kernel corn
1 Can creamed style corn
1 Stick butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Meanwhile, combine all ingredients in casserole dish and stir to mix well. After 25 to 30 minutes, stir casserole again to further mix ingredients. Continue cooking for another 25 to 30 minutes until casserole is bubbling and top begins to brown.

And Now For Something Completely Different: Grilled Sweet Potatoes

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I found myself having to cook for myself tonight as Susan was at her monthly Bunco night with her MOMS Club friends. This gives me an opportunity to either cook things that Susan doesn’t particularly care for or to experiment a little. Tonight I did both. Susan will eat pork but it isn’t necessarily her favorite meat. So, since she was gone, I picked up a nice thick Iowa Chop to grill. I seasoned this with some El Pilson’s Super Secret Smokin’ Meat Rub. This rub is made by my friend and fellow foodie and wine maker Ed Slonaker in Corpus Christi, Texas. Although this is a rub that is intended to be used while slowly smoking, it tasted very good on some chops cooked over a medium-low, direct fire. I will be slow cooking something over Labor Day weekend with this stuff and will blog about it then, so be looking for that to come. Tonight is about the experiment.

I love sweet potato fries with barbequed pork. To me, the smokiness of the pork and the savory-sweet flavors of the sweet potato fries just go hand-in-hand. Not really wanting to go to all the trouble of making sweet potato fries and since I was going to have a nice, big hot grill with plenty of room, I started to wonder how grilling these sweet potatoes would work. Fantastic! As you will see. These will definitely be made again. Here is what I did.

Ingredients

Sweet potato (Depending on size, one per person)
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
Sugar
Cinnamon

Directions

Heat grill to medium-high heat. Meanwhile, peel and slice sweet potatoes into about ¼ planks. Drizzle olive oil over sweet potatoes to coat. Season with kosher salt and a few grinds of fresh ground pepper. Place planks on grill and grill on each side for about 4 to 5 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from grill and sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over sweet potatoes. Serve immediately.

Simple Side: Grilled Green Beans with Garlic and Lemon Zest

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I love grilled vegetables. There is something about the caramelization that occurs from the high heat that makes them delicious. Grilling larger vegetables is easy; they can be placed directly on the grill grates. Smaller vegetables, like green beans, will require a basket or grilling pan. I prefer the latter. Mine is a square, three-sided stainless steel device that allows me to use a wok paddle to work the vegetables. Here is what I did for tonight’s green beans that were served as a side with a prime cut rib eye.

Ingredients

¼ cup olive oil
2 to 3 cloves of garlic, crushed or minced to a paste
1 to 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon cumin
1 pound green beans, stem ends cut
1 lemon for zesting
Salt to taste

Directions

Heat grill to high and place grill basket or grill pan on grill. Whisk olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, and cumin in a large bowl. Add the green beans and toss until they’re uniformly coated.  Transfer to grill basket or grill pan and cook till they’re slightly charred and tender. Remove to a serving dish, season with salt and finish with freshly grated lemon zest

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

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A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of preparing a prom dinner for my son Gregory, his date, and several of their friends at the Benton County Historical Society’s Ray House in Vinton, Iowa. The dinner menu had a very classic theme: A roasted red pepper soup for a starter, filet mignon with a herb steak butter, herbed potato mashers, green beans almondine, and finally a crème brûlée for dessert. This soup can easily be made vegetarian by substituting the chicken broth with vegetable broth.

I will be sharing a couple of the recipes from this dinner in my next couple posts. First is the roasted red pepper soup.

Ingredients

4 Red Bell Peppers roasted, seeded & peeled
2 tablespoons Butter
1 Red Onion Chopped
2 Garlic Cloves Minced
4 Cup Chicken or Vegetable Broth
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
Kosher Salt And Pepper to taste

Directions

Saute onions and garlic in butter until soft. Add red peppers. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add broth and simmer for 20 minutes. Add lemon juice. Process in food processor until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Place back on stove until ready to serve.

Additional note

This soup can easily be made the day before, but if you roast the peppers in advance it goes together very quickly. Serves 4-6. I float a sprig of basil or parsley on top for a nice colorful touch. I often add a dollop of crème fraîche when serving but it’s great naked!

Bonus Post! Guacamole!

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I’ve been making a lot of things with avocados lately so I have been buying a lot of avocados. I have also been able to work on perfecting my guacamole.

Here’s what I did for my guacamole tonight:

Ingredients

3 ripe avocados
1 tomato, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large jalapeño pepper, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon kosher salt
A few dashes of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
Juice from one lime

Directions

Combine all ingredients in suitable bowl. Mash avocados with a fork and stir together until well combined. Some chunks of avocado should remain

Here is an informative site that explains how to buy avocados. Avocado Central

Thai one on! Panang Tofu Curry

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Tofu gets a bad rap. It gets put down without justification. But before you wrinkle your nose. Before you say yuck. Before you say anything let me simply say you must try this tofu dish. Tofu has an amazing ability to absorb the flavors of what ever it is cooked with. In this case it is a spicy chili paste, turmeric, and cumin. Some people are turned off more by the texture but I think tofu can best be described as having a texture like scrambled eggs. Just give it a try. You might like it.

Ingredients

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
½ cup finely chopped shallots
2 tablespoons finely grated peeled ginger
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
¼ cup natural peanut butter
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon hot chili paste (such as sambal oelek)
1 cup water
1 13-½- to 14-ounce can organic light coconut milk
3 kaffir lime leaves or 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice and 1 ½ teaspoons finely grated lime peel
1 tablespoon (firmly packed) brown sugar
 14-ounce package organic firm tofu, drained, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 ½ cups ¼- to 1/3-inch-thick slices peeled carrots (about 3 medium)
1 large red bell pepper, cut into ¾-inch pieces
 
Directions
 
Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots, ginger, and garlic; cook until shallots are tender, about 6 minutes. Add peanut butter, turmeric, cumin, and chili paste; stir until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in 1 cup water, then coconut milk, lime leaves, and brown sugar; bring to simmer. Season sauce with salt. Add tofu, carrots, and bell pepper; simmer over medium heat until carrots are tender, adjusting heat to medium-low if beginning to boil and occasionally stirring gently, about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and serve over rice. 
I prefer to serve this over brown rice.

A Different Flavor of Pesto — Linguine with Walnut Pesto

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Most people think of a green sauce made primarily of basil when they hear the term pesto. Pesto is a generic Italian term for anything that is made by pounding and hence pesto can be made from a wide variety of base ingredients. Another favorite of mine that I may have to blog about at a later date is red pesto made with a base of sun-dried tomatoes. Here is a very simple, very tasty pesto made with a base of walnuts.

Ingredients

½ cup walnut pieces
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
½ tsp fine sea salt
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp walnut oil (or extra-virgin olive oil if walnut oil is not available)
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving
1 cup whole cow’s milk ricotta cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
1 lb dried linguine

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.

While the water is heating, put the walnuts, garlic, and salt in a food processor and process to a coarse paste. With the motor running, dribble in the olive oil and walnut oil and process just until combined. Transfer the puree to a bowl and stir in the parsley, Parmigiano, and ricotta. Add a few grinds of pepper and stir the mixture until it is well combined and creamy.

Add the pasta to the boiling water, stir to separate the noodles, and cook according to the manufacturer’s instructions until al dente. Drain the pasta in a colander set in the sink, reserving about 1 cup of the cooking water. Return the pasta to the pot and spoon in about three-fourths of the pesto. Add a little of the cooking water and toss until the pasta is evenly coated with the sauce.

Transfer the dressed pasta to warmed shallow individual bowls, top with a dollop of remaining pesto and sprinkle a little Parmigiano and black pepper over each serving. Serve immediately.

Fried Green Tomatoes

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It’s the end of Summer and a killing frost is going to wipe out your garden however your tomato plants still have several little jewels of deliciousness on them. You could pick them and place them in a sunny spot to let ripen, and as a matter of fact you should, but I also recommend taking several of them and making fried green tomatoes.

What’s not to like about fried green tomatoes? My recipe makes them crispy, saucy and very cheesy. Here’s what I do:

Ingredients

1 Cup buttermilk
1 Egg
8 slices green tomato (completely green if possible), approximately ¼-inch thick
1 cup Panko bread crumbs, lightly seasoned with salt, and black or white pepper
Shortening

1 Cup Marinara
8 oz Fresh Mozzerella Cheese
Fresh shredded Parmesean Cheese
Fresh chopped basil

Directions

Preheat oven broiler.

In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk and egg. Heat shortening in a large saute pan over moderate heat.

Meanwhile, dip tomato slices in egg mixture, then Panko bread crumbs. Place tomato slices in pan in a single layer. Do not crowd. Cook over moderate heat until golden brown on bottom. Turn and brown on other side. (Total cooking time is 3 to 4 minutes.) Tomato should be cooked all the way through but not mushy. Exterior should be golden brown.

Remove tomatoes place on wire rack to drain excess oil. Then place slices in single layer on flat baking sheet. Top each tomato with one slice of mozzarella and broil until cheese is melted and just begins to brown.

Place hot marinara on serving plate. Place four tomato slices on top and garnish with fresh chopped basil. Repeat with remaining slices and serve immediately.

Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese — Why Didn’t I Think of This?

~ The Blind Guy Cooks ~ Leave a comment

Sometimes you run across and idea and you can’t help but wonder aloud, “Why didn’t I think of that?” I read another food blog written by Kevin Flinch called Closet Cooking: Cooking in a closet sized kitchen in which he described a jalapeño popper grilled cheese sandwich. He has several “different” grilled cheese sandwiches that sound very good. This one, in particular, caught my eye as Susan and I had just happened to have had jalapeño poppers as a snack that evening. I changed the amounts of the ingredients just slightly and changed the assembly some but the idea for this sandwich is Kevin’s. Here is what I did.

Ingredients

2 Jalapeño peppers, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
2 Slices sourdough bread
Butter (Approximately 2 tablespoons)
Cream cheese, room temperature (Approximately 1 tablespoon)
¼ cup Cheddar Jack cheese, shredded
Tortilla chips

Directions

Roast the jalapeño peppers by placing the peppers on a baking sheet with the cut side facing down. Place the baking sheet on the top shelf in the oven and broil peppers until the outer skin of the peppers has blistered and turned black, about 15 minutes. Place the peppers in a zip-lock type bag and let them cool until you can handle them. After peppers have cooled, about 20 minutes, remove the skins from the peppers. They skin should pinch off relatively easily.

Next, assemble the sandwich. Butter one side of each slice of bread. Spread the cream cheese on the opposite side of one slice of bread. You may find it easier to wait to butter this slice of bread until the sandwich is on the grill with this slice on top. Next, layer the slice with tortilla chips. Then place the jalapeños on top of the chips followed with the shredded cheddar jack cheese. Place the last slice of sourdough on top and grill the sandwich until golden brown and the cheese is melted. This should take about 3 to 4 minutes per side depending on hot the grill is.

This sandwich was very tasty. The chips provided an extra crunch and flavor that added to the overall texture of the sandwich. I can’t wait until spring to try another of his grilled cheese sandwiches: a grilled asparagus and Gruyere cheese sandwich.