Recipe 45: Tuna Italiana

I learned a lot with this one.  I learned I don't like tuna steak!

At least there was no beer in this marinade!  Dijon mustard, olive oil, red pepper flakes and garlic.  You grill the tuna steaks on a hot grill for 4-5 minutes per side, just so it is beige on the outside and still red on the inside.  You also mix a can of diced tomatoes with a can of white beans (drained and rinsed).  We heated that and served it over pasta with pesto.  I found it all pretty dull, even with the red pepper on the tuna steaks.  Another book I have suggests slicing the tuna steaks sideways so they are 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.  I suggest that. These were about 1 1/2 inch thick and that made them hard to grill.  I might try them again, sliced thinner and marinaded with something else.

Next time:  Fish again!  Grilled with tomato and pineapple salsa! FIVE MORE RECIPES TO GO!!!!

Recipe #44: Drunken Pig

Big surprise:  BEER Marinade.  It's a pork roast, marinaded in beer, hence the name:  Drunken Pig.  Actually it isn't bad.  You mix beer, garlic, chopped onion, chopped green bell pepper and several seasonings.  Marinade then baste with the marinade while grilling (1 1/2 hours indirect).  The bad part was that you add a can of sliced new potatoes to the beer/onion/pepper and cook it all together as a side dish.  The pork roast was GREAT but warm flat beer doesn't do a lot for potatoes.  My bride agrees.

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We are down to SIX recipes from the original 50.  When  we are finished, ending with "RECIPE 50: THANKSGIVING SANDWICH" the day after Turkey Day 2011, I am writing a review of this book on Amazon.com.  It's not a new book and I might be late to the party, but I am sure I am the only reviewer who made all 50 recipes, so no one has a better claim to review the book than I do!  I will post that review here as well.

Next Time:  Tuna Steaks Italiano

Recipe #43: Pizza Vegetariana

As usual --  Pillsbury pizza dough, rolled out into eight inch circles.  Spray PAM on a piece of tinfoil and place the pizza dough circle on it.  Spray the top with PAM.  Put it face down on the grill and peel the tinfoil off.  Grill one minute then take it off, turn it over and put toppings on the grilled side:

1) Spread pesto on the crust.
2) Spread diced tomatoes on the crust
3) Spread artichokes  and diced green peppers
4) Spread mozzarella
5)  We ALSO added mushrooms and diced onions just cuz we like them.
I have to say though, I don't much care for the panic associated with dressing a pizza crust outside beside the grill.  Like I said before I'm not afraid to alter the recipe if I think it needs it.  I've made several pizzas his way and they look like autopsies.  So this time I just made ONE pizza with Boboli bread.  I did the rest according to the recipe though.  Not bad.  My wife loved it.  I kept wondering, "Where's the meat!??!?!?!"

Next Time:  Drunken Pig!

Recipe #42: Ring Sausage with Polenta Pucks

The new discovery was polenta -- a Northern Italian answer to Pasta.  It looks like a 1 lb tube of hamburger only it's corn yellow and is actually MADE from corn.  It works pretty well for anything pasta works for.  In this case, chopped onion, chopped green pepper, mushroom and diced tomato, sauted.  Chill and cut a tube of polenta into 10 1/2" pucks.  Grill them like a hamburger patty along with a ring of sausage --  we used a ring of Hungarian Kielbasa my Bro-in-law gave us.  GOOD STUFF!  Anyway, you cut up the sausage and toss it with the veggies until it's all nice and warm, then serve it over the polenta pucks.  Not bad, but it would be better to take the veggies and sausage and mix them in with marinara and pour THAT over the polenta.  Actually I understand polenta is best with lots of sauce, and the veggies in this recipe are pretty sauce-less.

Next Time:  Grilled Veggie Pizza

Recipe #41: Herbalicious Tenderloin

Sigh!  Same crap, different meat!  Take a tenderloin, marinade it in chicken broth, frozen orange juice concentrate (thawed, not diluted), Rosemary and garlic.  Then grill it.  It's not bad, don't get me wrong.  pretty tasty actually but I am getting good a tired of sloppy marinades and no smoking -- ever.  Tenderloin is GREAT just grilled and smoked with Hickory or Mesquite.  At least the marinade didn't have BEER this time.
Next Time:  Ring sausage with Polenta Pucks!

Recipe #40: Dr Pepper Glazed Ham

I made this while my homey was out of town because she doesn't like ham.

Canned ham, grilled and glazed with:  Dr Pepper + veggie oil + garlic + Tabasco boiled down to thicken it and then glaze the ham during the last 15 minutes of grilling.  I served it with red beans and rice.  Pretty good, but a lot of trouble to go to just for glazed ham.

TEN recipes left.  We want to finish up on November 26 with Recipe #50, "Thanksgiving Sandwich" which is basically a hot turkey combination made with left-overs from Thanksgiving!

Next time:  PROBABLY Herbalicious Tenderloin.

Recipe #39: Luca Brasi Pizza

EEEEWWWWW!!!!

Looks like an autopsy!!!

You roll out Pillbury Pizza dough into two 8" circles on tinfoil squares sprayed with PAM.  Put face down on a hot grill and peel the tinfoil off.  Grill one side for 2-3 minutes, just so it doesn't fall apart.  Remove from the grill and flip it onto a plate, so the cooked side is up.  Layer (1) caponata (an tomato, eggplant and caper antipasto), (2) chunks of tuna (hence the name:  "Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes.") and (3) Mozzarella.  Grill it for 5 or 7 minutes, just until the cheese melts.  I thought it was gross.  My sweetie liked it.  That happens a lot, I guess, where she likes a recipe I don't.  Oh well.
Next time:  I'm thinking Dr Pepper Glazed Ham, because my sweetie is leaving for the weekend and doesn't really like ham.

Recipe #38: Acapulco Chicken + Grilled Jamabalya

 Simple:  you marinade the chicken in tomato sauce and chili powder then grill it.  While it is grilling you mix the fruit salsa:   can of pineapple, can of diced tomatoes and a can of mandarin oranges.  We added jasmine rice to round out the meal.  Not a big deal but it was okay flavor-wise.  Nothing to write home (or a blog) about.

However, the next day we made JAMBALYA. NOT IN THE BOOK! I was at the farmer's market and they had nice farm-fresh tomatoes onions and  green peppers and we had some excellent sausage in the freezer we wanted to use.  Here's how.  Grill the sausage (I smoked it over apple wood!).  Also grill the tomatoes, onions and green peppers.  Go to the stove -- Chop the onion and green pepper and cook in hot oil.  Add rice and the chunked up sausage.  When it is all well-coated with oil, puree the tomatoes and add them to the pot along with a cup of chicken broth.  A bit of hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer for 20-25 minutes until the rice is tender.  EAT.  GOSH it was great.  I've made JAMBALAYA before but never grilled the meat and veggies.

Special: Chili on the Grill

Nothin' better for a crisp autumn day!  Spray with PAM 4 large tomatoes, 3 stalks of celery and a jalapeno then grill about 8-10 minutes, so the skin falls off the tomatoes.  Make 3 pounds of hamburger (or other meat of choice) into patties and rub with Chipotle Seasoning or a meat seasoning of your preference.  Grill the meat to medium doneness and remove it from the grill.

Put the tomatoes in the blender and puree.  Pour into a pasta pot and put it on the stove.  Chop the celery and jalapenos into chunks and throw them into the pot.  Cut the meat into cubes and toss THOSE into the pot.  Pour in a bottle of ale. Simmer for about 1 to 1-1/2 hours.  During the last 20 minutes pour in three cans of pinto beans WITHOUT the juice, a tablespoon of chili pepper and then add salt and pepper to taste.  IT'S AMAZING!  The smoky flavor from the grill is shared among the veggies and meat and sauce and it all mixes together in a fine collaboration.  It is just the BEST.  I like to eat in the fall with cornbread.  My honey loves it.

adapted from:  http://www.weber.com/grillout/recipes/beef/chili-on-the-grill


Next time:  Acapulco Chicken

Recipe #37: Oktoberfest Pigout

Pork Tenderloin in a marinade of apple cider and bourbon. Grilled over hot coals until it reaches 155 degrees inside.  Sliced and served with Sweet Kraut cooked with finely diced apples and white wine.  We had it all with potato salad and sliced beets.  What's more German than that!  Happy October!!!

Next time:  Something Special --  Not in the book!