Tales from the Grill

A big plus of my new suburban life is having a grill. On my day off, I basically throw every meat (chicken, various sausages, pork) and veggie (mainly zucchini, squash, eggplant, peppers, onions) in my fridge on the grill and (voila!) I have lunch and/or dinner for the week.

One dish that is quickly becoming a staple in my grilling repertoire is swordfish kabobs. After burning quite a few wood skewers, I've moved on to metal ones but the basis of the dish has remained the same. I alternate swordfish cubes, red onion (for color) and red and green peppers. A generous coating of olive oil spray, kosher salt and a lemon pepper spice mixture I purchased at Penzey's rounds out the dish. In minutes, it is done. Plain, simple, delicious!

A great accompaniment to the kabobs is grilled corn on the cob. I parboil the corn on the stove then spray liberally with butter spray and let the cobs caramelize on the grill. For a side salad the next day, I've removed the kernels from the cob and added to greens, black beans, tomatoes and avocados. A Southwest inspired delight!

Another fish I've tried to grill is tilapia with mixed results. I figured I'd give myself mercury poisoning if all I'm eating is swordfish, so I branched out. Since tilapia's not quite firm enough to stand up to grilling it can be a bit of a challenge. Again Pensey's Sunny Spain seasoning really saved the day and added a subtle fresh flavor to the fish.

The key to meats that you are planning on reheating is to ever so slightly under cook them so they do not dry out upon reheating. Pork chops and pork tenderloin grilled in a pineapple sake marinade became something extra special when I grilled some fresh pineapple along side it. Chicken in a teriayki glaze caramelized beautifully on the grill and I met equally outstanding results with a sesame ginger marinade. I must admit the marinades come out of a bottle, but hey, this is mostly low maintenance grilling.

It's pretty safe to say that I will be "that weirdo neighbor" that you see outside working the grill in a parka in the dead of winter and it's also pretty safe to say I'll be "that weirdo neighbor" taking pictures of her grill too!

Girl Meets Grill

Many of you have expressed concern over the lack of recent posts on f is for foodie.

"What's the matter? Nothing to eat in Connecticut?"
"Are you starving yourself?"
"Spending too much time in the cafeteria of the WWL?"

Actually none of the above.

Unfortunately, as a circumstance of working nights, I no longer have the luxury of coming home and whipping up a meal. What I do have is two days to prepare my lunches and dinners for the week and pack them up to bring to the WWL. More often than not, it's cramming a week's worth of cooking into one day.

Luckily, my new grill has been doing the heavy lifting. Basically, I take all the veggies (eggplant, zucchini, peppers, onions and corn on the cob) and meats (various type of sausage, pork chops, marinated chicken breasts, burgers) I have on hand, season them up and throw them on the grill. I've also been preparing various salads and sides like couscous to which I add some toasted pine nuts and fresh parsley from my mini herb garden to spruce it up a bit.

One good thing about living in this part of Connecticut is there are plenty of farm stands and fresh produce to be had just about every day of the week. The corn and tomatoes have been exceptional this summer and one benefit of moving north is the produce season lasts slightly longer than in New York. There's still great tomatoes to be had up here!

As my grilling skills improve, I've become a bit more adventurous. I've made swordfish kabobs, grilled shrimp, and grilled pineapple. The pineapple was a particularly delightful accompaniment to my pineapple sake marinated pork chops last week. And as I continue to experiment and churn out grilled goodies, I will do my best to keep the photos and posts coming!