MGK Favorite Things

Posted on August 7, 2013 by Marilyn
My Favorite Things!

My Favorite Things!

I used to love Oprah’s “My Favorite Things” show back in the day so I decided to concoct my very own “a few of my favorite kitchen things this month” list.  By now you likely know how much I adore everything culinary. I tried to narrow this kitchen utensil list down to some tools I just couldn’t do without. Aside from some high quality, sharp knives, these three utensils are ones that I employ on a regular basis. I can’t imagine my kitchen without them!

1. Chinoise: the cone-shaped, fine mesh strainer I mentioned in my miso soup post.    If you pour something like chicken soup through this strainer, it comes out clear without flecks of ANYTHING.  No joke, it captures all sediment or floating particles in any liquid food.  It’s pronounced SHIN WAAZ, with the accent on the waaz.  I have gifted this to some of my friends and family that cook a lot, and it’s not a tool I use each day but it gets pulled out every week or two for something or another.

2.  Plastic bench scraper:  I use this inexpensive item almost daily: the rounded, curved side is great for scraping dough or really anything from the insides of a bowl; I use the flat side for cutting dough in pieces (think challah) or for scraping herbs that I’ve cut and want to gather to put into a dish, kind of like a dust pan.  I actually have two of these in case one is dirty or I misplace it.  Indispensable and easy to store!

3.  Microplane grater (the silver long handled gadget with the handle):  Another workhorse for me – I grate my chunk of good parmesan cheese on this,  lemon, lime, orange peel, or chocolate to sprinkle on top of pies.  I’m always surprised when I visit a friend’s kitchen and can’t find one of these handy dandy tools anywhere in sight. It is easy to use, easy to clean and it goes in the dishwasher.  Nuff said.

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Gobble Gobble Turkey Loaf

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Marilyn

Click here to view recipe.

Lovely Turkey Loaf

Lovely Turkey Loaf

Turkey is not just for Thanksgiving or the cold months of winter!!

I love this turkey loaf recipe even more than traditional meat loaf.  It is light, very tasty and when I make it, I serve it as turkey loaf the first night and then have leftovers for the rest of the week! I often toss it on top of dressed salad greens the next day; it tastes delicious between good slices of whole grain bread topped with tomato, spinach, just about anything.  Slice and grill leftovers, or chop up leftover turkey loaf into marinara sauce and served it on top of whole grain noodles or quinoa.

Nothing is difficult about this recipe.  But yes, you do need to saute the onions.  There are a lot of flavor enhancers here (chicken broth, worcestershire, salt, etc) — everything is necessary unless you like bland food.  I love making this in free form-shaping it is kind of fun.

Add this to your regular dinner rotation. As written it is a large recipe, and I’ve even doubled it when I have a house full of eaters.  It always turns out perfectly!  I made it this July and served it with sauteed lacinato kale, asparagus and pea pods and oven roasted, multicolored potatoes.  It’s a winner for sure!

Ready for the oven!

Ready for the oven!

Turkey Loaf

(Adapted from Ina Garten)

Serves 6-8

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Ingredients for the loaf:
  • 1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced ¼ inch
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • ½  tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ tsp dry thyme leaves
  • 2 ½ Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • ⅓  cup chicken stock (I used “Better Than Bouillon” reconstituted)
  • 1 tsp tomato paste
  • 2 ½  pounds ground turkey (breast or thigh meat is fine)
  • ¾ cups whole grain bread crumbs (I always keep in the freezer)
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
Topping Ingredients:
  • 3 Tbsp brown sugar
  • ½ c ketchup
  • 1 tsp dry mustard
Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and place an oven safe pyrex 2 cup measuring cup, filled with 1 ½ cups of hot water, inside.  This keeps the turkey loaf from cracking.

Line a rimmed jelly roll sheet pan with parchment paper or foil.

In a medium saute pan, over medium-low heat, cook the onions, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme uncovered until translucent, approximately 10 minutes. Stir every few minutes.  Take it off the heat, and a few minutes later dd the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste and mix well. Allow this to cool to room temperature.

Put the ground turkey, bread crumbs, eggs, and cooled saute pan ingredients in a large bowl. The mixture will feel a bit loose.  Mix well and shape into a rectangular loaf on the parchment lined jelly roll pan.  Spread the ketchup mixture evenly on top of the loaf and let it dribble a little down the sides.

Bake for 1 1/4 hours or until the internal temperature is 160 degrees F and the meatloaf is cooked through. Let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold in a sandwich.

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I Heart Miso Soup

Posted on July 24, 2013 by Marilyn

Click here to view recipe.

Marvelous Miso

Marvelous Miso

I’ve always loved miso soup. Ever since I can remember I’ve ordered this warm, savory yet simple soup in Japanese restaurants.  In 1989 our family took a trip to Fiji, and lo and behold miso soup appeared on the breakfast buffet!  That was a first for me to see…but I’ve come to love miso soup for breakfast.  In 1998 I visited Japan and had miso soup every single day!  There is something about it that always warms my insides.

I recently took a cooking class taught by Lovely Lanvin (aka Shirley) where she taught us how to make Okonomiyaki or Osaka-style Japanese Savory Pancakes.  Shirley brought miso soup for all of us to sip while we watched her make the pancakes, and she kindly told us approximately how it was done.

What follows is my version – probably not the quantities Shirley would use but it suits my taste buds.  By the way, many cooks both here and in Japan use dried, pre-made soup stock – much like bouillon.  I think making the Dashi, or Japanese soup stock, from scratch creates a much deeper, unusual flavor.

International Ingredients

International Ingredients

My Miso Soup

Makes 6 servings

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Dashi Ingredients
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 5-6 inch piece kombu (dried kelp)
  • 2 cups Katsuiobushi dried bonito flakes
  • Wakame (dried seaweed)-not too much-it really expands
Soup Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup cubed silken tofu
  • 3-4 Tbsp miso paste (red or white)
  • 2 cups Baby spinach (optional)
  • 1 cup Shitake mushrooms (optional)
Instructions

To make the Dashi, combine the kombu and water in a soup pot and cook on medium low heat.  The water should approach a boil after about 20 minutes (lower the heat if it is heating up too quickly).  Once boiling, immediately turn off the heat and remove the kombu.  Add the dried bonito flakes.  Wait  20-30 minutes until  the dried bonito drops to the bottom of the pan. Strain the broth through an ultra  fine-mesh  strainer (cheesecloth or I used my Chinoise).  Let drain for a couple of minutes.  Don’t press on the bonito flakes or it gets cloudy and bitter.

Add a small handful of wakame (dried seaweed) and cubes of silken tofu to the strained dashi and heat on low for three minutes along with 3-4 Tbsp of miso paste.  The miso I used combined red and white miso, or you can use half red and half white miso paste if you have it.

This did not come from Shirley, but I like to drop in a couple handfuls of baby spinach – this isn’t traditional but I like it.  I’ve even been known to add some sliced Shitake mushrooms.

Ladle  into a  bowl…  This will warm the cockles of your heart!

PS: I took the pictures of the ingredients Shirley used from Uwajamaya above in case you wonder or have a choice of brands

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Holy Holy Guacamole

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Marilyn

Click here to view recipe.

Gorgeous Guacamole

Gorgeous Guacamole

It’s summer, I’m down in Belize for a few weeks and for once there are avocados everywhere!  These avocados are most likely from neighboring Mexico – not hothouse ripened, mind you.  When they are soft to the touch, you can shake them and hear the seed bounce back and forth.  In general, these avocados are a little larger than those I buy in Seattle at the supermarket (where they are definitely not a local food item!).

Guacamole is one of those things I never make in Seattle. When there,  I buy avocados and cut them into salads or I often just slice them in half, remove the seed and drizzle them with extra good, extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt, then I spoon the flesh into my mouth.  BUT, in Belize they taste great mashed into “guac” and served as an appetizer with fresh masa (corn) chips.

So what is so hard about making guacamole?  Not a thing, other than gathering the ingredients. A couple tricks I know that makes my guacamole noteworthy:  1)  I never overmix the veggies – I like chunky guacamole with some texture, so I only mash the avocado with a potato masher until it is broken up a bit.  2)  I always always always rinse the diced onion with water.  This removes some of the bitter oil and keeps the onion from overpowering the dip. Incidentally,  I do the same thing with raw garlic, not just in this recipe but whenever raw onion or garlic is used because otherwise the taste overpowers me for way too long.  3).  I don’t skin or seed the tomatoes.  I keep it simple and rustic and easy to boot.

AND, finally, this is my original recipe.  I did not search on the internet – I simply created a dip to my liking based on ubiquitous ingredients.

Fresh Ingredients

Fresh Ingredients

Marilyn’s Holy Holy Guacamole

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Ingredients
  • 2 large avocados or 3 average sized, cut in half, seed removed (about 2 cups)
  • ¼ white skin onion-peel, dice ¼ inch then rinse with water for 30 seconds and drain
  • 2 small vine ripe tomatoes, dice ¼ inch
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro or to taste
  • 1 medium lime, juiced  (about 2-3 Tbsp)
  • ¼ tsp ground black pepper
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • Marie Sharp (or your favorite brand) hot sauce, about ¼ tsp or more to taste
Instructions

Mash avocado with a potato masher.  Add rinsed and diced onion, diced tomato, chopped cilantro and lime juice.  Barely combine with a spoon.  Add black pepper, sea salt and hot sauce, stir and taste.  Add more lime, cilantro or salt to your taste.  Serve with fresh corn chips.

¡Buen provecho! (Enjoy!)

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Learning to Love Eggplant Tomato Gratin

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Marilyn

Click here to view recipe.

My Favorite Eggplant Dish

My Favorite Eggplant Dish

There are very, very, very few fruits or vegetables that I don’t love and eat with gusto these days. This adoration for fresh produce, however, was not always the case. As a child I was scrawny and a very picky eater, so they say. My wise mother ignored my fussiness with foods and didn’t ever force me to eat or finish anything which shows that our tastes and horizons often change as we grow older… and wiser.

Eggplant was one of the vegetables I HATED in my youth. My Uncle Lou and Aunt Esther lived in Iowa, about a mile from us, and their back yard contained a family garden. Among other vegetables, they grew and harvested eggplant. Honestly, I didn’t give it a chance and in retrospect this was probably because it has a funny texture and smell unless you try it prepared in different ways.

Elegant Eggplant

Elegant Eggplant

Fast forward. Today, eggplant is one of my absolute favorites. I love the deep, rich and unusual color. And it’s so versatile! I make it using many many many various recipes and sauces and cooking methods. I pulled this one from Mark Bittman’s column and changed it to my taste, adding more basil and pureeing the tomato sauce. And I always pass a bowl of freshly grated parmesan cheese for guests to add if they so choose.

As it turned out, I had a few cups of extra tomato sauce because I didn’t want to douse the eggplant in sauce. As luck would have it, later in the week I ended up with scads of extra turkey loaf. I chopped up some of the cooked turkey loaf and added it to this sauce, then served it over whole wheat spaghetti. SOOOO good.

As a side note, I save dried or stale whole wheat or grainy bread if I don’t eat my way through an entire loaf (often, because there are just two of us at home now). So the bread crumbs are always a staple in my freezer! AND I love the idea of baking slices of beautiful eggplant without gallons of olive oil. Less is more. Because I’m a fan of simplicity I add basil while cooking the tomato sauce rather than layering it in as instructed. Buon Appetito!

Mark and Marilyn’s Global Eggplant with Red Sauce

Serves 4-6

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Ingredients
  • 3 medium sized eggplants, about 2 ½ -3 pounds
  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil + a bit to drizzle over the dish before baking
  • 1¼ teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
  • Fresh black pepper to taste
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic (I love garlic-use less if you don’t)
  • 2  28-ounce cans diced tomatoes, with their juice (I like Muir Glen fire roasted)
  • 1 ⅓ cup fresh basil leaves (chiffonade)
  • 1 ½ tsp granulated sugar
  • 1 cup whole grain breadcrumbs
  • Optional: 1 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese for serving (pass along side)
Instructions:

Heat the oven to 450°F and place the racks with at least 4 inches between them.

Cut the eggplant crosswise into ½-inch-thick slices and arrange them on two parchment lined baking sheets.

Use two tablespoons of the oil to brush the top of each eggplant slice and sprinkle the slices with ½ teaspoon salt and some freshly ground black pepper.

Roast the eggplant until the slices brown on the bottom and sides, 10 to 15 minutes; turn with tongs and cook the other side until the slices are crisp in places and golden, another five to ten minutes. At this point remove the baking sheets with the eggplant from the oven and lower the heat to 400ºF.

Meanwhile, put two tablespoons of the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. When it’s hot, add the onion, sprinkle with another ½ teaspoon of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, three minutes. Add the garlic and stir for one minute. Add the canned tomatoes, cut basil and add sugar (always add a touch of sugar when making tomato sauce) and cook, stirring occasionally, until this thickens, 20 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. I use my immersion blender and smooth out the sauce by pulsing it with the hand blender. Remove two cups of tomato sauce and reserve for another time or purpose.

Cover the bottom of a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with about ½ inch of the tomato sauce. Nestle a layer of eggplant into the sauce. Cover with a thin layer of tomato sauce and repeat a second layer until all the eggplant is used up

Put a thin layer of tomato sauce on top of the dish. Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs, the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt and drizzle with more olive oil.

Bake until the breadcrumbs are golden and the sauce has thickened, 15 to 20 minutes; let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature. I garnish each portion with a few whole basil leaves.

If you aren’t serving with cheese, this is vegan. If you use gluten-free bread, it is gluten-free. If you make it my way, it is wonderful.

This is SUCH an easy and hearty dish. I am thinking it would be good with some chopped mushrooms too, sauteed along with the onion if you want it even heartier. And it’s great to put some pasta on the bottom of the plate and top it with a portion of eggplant and tomato sauce – the noodles soak up the juice.

 

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To Market, To Market

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Marilyn
My Favorite Bags

My Favorite Bags

In the trunk of my car you will find an orderly bunch of reuseable grocery bags – probably about seven in all. Seattle recently began charging customers at grocery stores, and even clothing stores, if they require a new paper or large plastic bag for purchases. YAY for Seattle! I have been in the (good) habit for at least five years, always carrying my repurposed bags with me in the grocery stores, but most importantly at Farmers Markets where I buy scads of produce, eggs, cheese, and most of our food for the week.

Pictured are three of my favorite bags and, of course, I have a story for each. For some insane reason, it makes me happy to own these three totes. Most women love clothing, but I wold rather own interesting grocery bag. Go figure…

1) My Pike Street Market Frank’s Quality Produce bag

Actually I have two of these gorgeous babies. They were gifted to me at least 25 years ago by the owner of Frank’s Produce because I was such a loyal customer.The vendors down at the Market knew me and my kids because we visited the bursting stalls so frequently. And back then, canvas bags were a new, novel idea. This bag you see is HUGE, not to mention sturdy and durable … I use it for every single trip to the market. I even bought these bags for each of my three children last Chanukah These reusable bags have withstood numerous washing machine cycles over a quarter century, and vendors and grocery clerks always remark how large and how stable they are. The folks from Frank’s produce stand have been so friendly and wonderful to me all these years – I’m glad I can help advertise their amazing produce … and their bags!

2) My Alchemy Goods Ad bag

I bought one of the original models of this bag over ten years ago when Eli, Alchemy Goods’ founder, just started his company. Eli was my daughter’s best friend since the time they were three years old. Both Rachel and Eli have engineering degrees; Rachel now practices acupuncture and Eli is a renaissance man and owns Alchemy Goods. The handles of this yellow bag are made of recycled seat belts reinforced with bike tires, the main bag upcycled from advertising banners.. I’ve put this bag through the wash as well. It’s holding up well despite constant use and abuse.

3) My latest, greatest market basket type bag (the aubergine one with handles)

This one is collapsible and so stylish, complete with a pocket for my phone and keys. It was a 2013 Mother’s Day gift from my son and family in California! (The gift note read “we hope this makes one of your blog posts!”) I love it, and when filled with colorful fruits and vegetables, I feel very “together” carrying this basket. Bonus: I can use a brush and soap to clean the canvas. So yes, dear children, you made my blog post and I always always think about you when I carry this eggplant colored basket – made by Reisenthel. I’m thinking it would be terrific if I ever have a chance to pick apples for plums from a tree.

Go on, get yourself some fun, colorful, upcycled or trendy bags. You are what you carry!

 

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The Prohibition Cocktail

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Marilyn

Click here to view recipe.

Jonathan enjoying a perfect Prohibition

Jonathan enjoying a perfect Prohibition

Iowa in June – lush, green, gardens already producing basil, garlic and a beautiful array of colorful flowers. On the down side – the rivers are overflowing and flooding is a real possibility.

The evening we arrived, our son-in-law and daughter prepared a wonderful meal of ground lamb nachos with mint sauce. Before we ate, however, Jonathan got busy inventing a new cocktail that he aptly named “Prohibition.” He didn’t write down the quantities or method but I eyeballed his preparation and have a close recipe below. The tastes are very complex – not too sweet and not too boozy. Just how I like ‘em.

About the rye: this is produced in Iowa and according to Rachel, it was made in small batches until very recently when it hit the big time. Today, Costco in Iowa sells Templeton Rye and it is also available online. I found their website fascinating and highly recommend all you history buffs and foodies check it out! This is the first time I have ever tasted rye whiskey and I found that drinking it straight out of the bottle was a bit overwhelming but I loved it in this cocktail! I’ll be bringing a couple of bottles of this stuff back to Seattle.

The Prohibition

(This makes 2 cocktails)

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Ingredients
  • 2 long (3-4 inches) strips of lemon zest
  • 1-2 large lemons (enough for ¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice plus zest)
  • 1 heaping tablespoon of good quality local honey, heated in the microwave for 10 seconds
  • ½ cup Templeton rye
  • 2 tablespoons cinnamon/sugar mixture
Instructions

Chill two martini glasses in the freezer for about a half hour, then rub the rims of the glasses inside and out (about ¼ inch down) with lemon juice; dip each glass rim into a cinnamon/sugar mixture. The glasses can be kept in the freezer if you aren’t ready to pour the cocktail soon!

Zest lemon with a zester that allows you to create long, thin strips of peel (my favorite kind is similar to the one pictured here). Drape the peel over your martini glass so some hangs inside the drink to impart the lemon oil.

Heat the honey and lemon juice in the microwave for about 10 seconds and then place into a cocktail shaker with the rye. Fill to two inches below the brim with ice. Shake for about 30 seconds, make a lot of important sounding racket then pour (strain if the shaker doesn’t already have a strainer) into your chilled martini glasses.

Jonathan tried to dissect the beverage, but like I told him, don’t add bitters, don’t add more or less honey, don’t add or delete a thing! In other words, it is perfect as is!

 

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The Basic Brownie

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Marilyn

Click here to view recipe.

The Basic Brownie – Beautiful!

I was recently in Portland, Oregon visiting old friends and having dinner, and, in order to prepare dessert, my hostess pulled out a box of brownie mix. “STOP!!!” I screamed. I started rooting around in her cupboard and refrigerator and quickly collected all the ingredients needed to make brownies from scratch. Hallelujah!

For the life of me I don’t understand why anyone would use a brownie mix. By the time you go to the store, buy the packaged stuff with all kinds of additives, then add eggs and oil…you might as well bake with real ingredients and have a fresh, wonderful pan of decadent, chocolaty brownies.

This is a perfect beginner’s baking project – it requires just a few ingredients and a bit of elbow grease – no mixer, just a large bowl and spatula. Brownies can be simple or provide a base for more elaborate desserts – think a scoop of ice cream on top, hot fudge or caramel or peanuts sprinkled about – even some coarse fancy salt on top of the caramel. Now we’re talking!!! Even a little crème fresh and sliced berries alongside is nice…endless possibilities!

I hope you’ll take the challenge and even do a little side-by-side taste test. You’ll never go back to the box!

Basic Brownies

Ingredients:
  • 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
  • 1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
  • 1 cup less 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
  • ¼ c regular flour
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)
Instructions:

Grease an 8 x 8 x 2 brownie pan (remember the homemade PAM? Use it!). and preheat oven to 325 degrees with the rack in the middle of the oven.

Cut one stick of butter into 6-8 pieces and put in a 2 quart glass bowl with the two squares of chocolate. Melt in microwave 45-60 seconds, stopping every 20 seconds to stir well. At the end you’ll have to stir vigorously for a few minutes to dissolve the chocolate. If you don’t have or want to use a microwave, melt slowly in a double boiler or pan on very, very low heat so you don’t burn the chocolate.

Crack eggs and beat with vanilla in a separate bowl. Then stir into the melted chocolate/butter mix. Stir in sugar and combine well.

Mix salt with flour to disburse, and then dump into the liquid mix. Use spatula to blend. Stir in nuts.

Place brownie batter into the greased pan, even the top with a table knife and bake for 35 minutes or until done. Cool on rack, and once they are totally cooled sift powdered sugar over the top before serving.

My mom used to cut and wrap these brownies individually in waxed paper, and then put them into a sealed container — perhaps it was a coffee can with a lid? That way, we could take a brownie without a lot of fuss and bother and didn’t get our fingers all over the rest of the batch!

You can easily double this recipe and bake them in a 9 x 12 pan too.

It doesn’t get much easier than this, folks.

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Perfect Peanut Sauce & Chicken

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Marilyn

Click here to view recipe.

Skewers of chicken & peanut sauce

It’s starting to warm up in Seattle – which means grilling season! The other day as I set about to grill some chicken on the barbeque – I felt the urge to make some type of dipping sauce. And for some crazy reason, my peanut sauce came to mind. I’ve been making this peanut sauce for over a decade; everyone who tries it loves it.   The ingredients aren’t very sexy, but at one point I even thought of mass producing and selling it. I love this for dipping chicken, and sometimes I even thin out the sauce and add it to asparagus, bow tie noodles and grilled chicken with some sliced, colorful peppers for a main dish.  I might use extra peanut sauce for dipping rice paper wrapped vegetable spring rolls.

All the ingredients

I made chicken skewers by the thousands back in the day. Through trial and error, I segued from cutting a longer, thinner piece of chicken and weaving it in and out of the skewer like a needle and fabric. Now I grill the breast halves intact after briefly marinating them in some olive oil and seasoning — then they are allowed to sit for a few minutes before I cube them and stab each square piece with a skewer. This method produces much moister chicken bite that is easy for company to dip and eat. For an appetizer, I figure 3-4 skewers per person (each chicken breast half makes a least 4 for pieces).

Peanut Sauce

Makes 1 ⅔ cups of sauce (enough to serve and lots to repurpose too)

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Ingredients
  • ½ cup chunky commercial peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar (unseasoned)
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 3 Tbsp tamari sauce (or soy sauce)
  • 2 Tbsp water
  • 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 2 Tbsp commercial chili sauce
  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
Instructions

Whisk all ingredients until well combined and if you like smoother peanut sauce put in the blender or food processor. This can be kept in the refrigerator for one month.

I serve a platter of the chicken skewers and garnish them with fresh cilantro and sliced orange halves, then pass a bowl of peanut sauce or additional dipping sauce as well.

Grilled Chicken Breasts

Serves 6-8 easily

Ingredients
  • 2 chicken breast halves
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • ¼ tsp smoked paprika
Instructions

Remove the tenderloin from the breasts. Mix all remaining ingredients together and marinate the chicken for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile preheat a barbecue grill to 400-425 degrees. Oil the grates, and place each chicken breast half on the grill for about 4 minutes. Turn carefully with tongs and continue to cook until barely done. When pressed with your index finger, the meat should feel like the fatty part of your chin.

Remove from the heat and let them rest for 5-10 minutes. Cut into 1-inch cubes (you should get about 12-15 pieces per half) and place each cube on a 5-6 inch wood skewer.

 

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mango sorbet dessert

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Marilyn

Click here to view recipe.

Delicious Dessert

Delicious Dessert

My “baby”, Jake (aka Jakey Boy) recently had his 27th birthday. If he didn’t physically resemble our family so much most people would think he had a different mother and father. You see, he doesn’t like chocolate or anything sweet for that matter. This is not because of health or diet reasons; quite the contrary. He simply doesn’t yearn for sweet things – he rarely, if ever, orders dessert. He’s more of a savory kind of guy, and a foodie in the truest sense of the word.

So I was perplexed about what to make for his recent birthday. Cake? Pie? Crisp?? His sister came to the rescue and sent me a dessert idea that her college roommate Elan made in New York when she visited a year ago. Elan, like me, invents all kinds of food items, and this dessert was genius. Thankfully Rachel emailed him and Elan responded quickly, so I had time to get the mango sorbet. The rest of the ingredients I happened to already have on hand.

This is an easy and simple dessert to throw together to end a meal. The combination of sweet, salty, fruity, crunchy, weird and ordinary all came together and pleased my Jakey Boy. I’ll be making this again for foodie friends.

Note – I’ve included approximately amounts for each ingredient – this is for one serving.

Jakey Boy Dessert

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Ingredients:
  • ½ cup plain greek yogurt, I like at least 2% for this purpose
  • 1-2 Tbsp ball of mango sorbet
  • ½ tsp fruity olive oil
  • ½ tsp honey
  • A few hazelnuts (Uwajamaya in Seattle had them already toasted!)
  • 1 pinch fancy sea salt
Instructions:

Chop hazelnuts not so finely and then toast them in a dry pan (NOTE: you could start with chopped, toasted hazelnuts.)

Portion yogurt in serving dishes.

Scoop sorbet on top of yogurt.

Sprinkle hazelnuts on yogurt/sorbet.

Drizzle honey and olive oil somewhat generously over the yogurt, sorbet, hazelnut.

Sprinkle sea salt flakes over the whole thing.

PS: I think fresh mango slices would be lovely if you want to sub out the sorbet.

 

 

 

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