Stuffed Onions with Grilled Chicken Under A Brick

July 9, 2009 by 29 Comments
For your next BBQ try these stuffed onions, they make a great side dish to any protein you might be cooking on the grill. I like to prep them the day before and have them all ready to go.

Large sweet onions that are filled with feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, breadcrumbs, fresh herbs and pine nuts. There’s something about the sweet taste of a caramelized grilled onion!

HERE’S WHAT YOU DO:

In a large pot of boiling water add 2 large whole onions with the skin on. Boil for about 12 minutes. Drain and cool. Cut each onion in half and carefully slip off the skin. Remove the center of each onion, leaving a thick shell. Chop up the scooped out onion, place in a bowl along with 1 cup of crumbled feta,1/2 cup of breadcrumbs, sun-dried tomatoes drained and chopped, 2 small minced garlic cloves, chopped parsley, thyme, and basil and toss in some pine nuts.
Brush the whole onion with olive oil, drizzle some on top too, place on your grill with a tent of foil over top, cook for around 40-45 minutes.

CHICKEN UNDER A BRICK
I usually cut the backbone out and then split a whole chicken in half, place a brick that’s been cleaned and wrapped in tin foil on top of the chicken, this will ensure nice even cooking, crispy skin, and a very moist and juicy chicken.
I make a paste/rub consisting of 5 cloves of garlic that has been smashed with the back of your knife then chopped fine, 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped rosemary, a healthy dose of black pepper and course salt, place in a small bowl and drizzle in some olive oil, then rub all over the chicken, underneath the skin and everywhere.
The garlic rosemary flavor makes this crispy juicy chicken a definite must for your summertime grilling.
Happy Grilling, and Buon Appetito!

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29 Comments Filed Under: Poultry, Side Dishes, Summer Tagged: , ,

Thinking Pink with a Raspberry Souffle

July 6, 2009 by 28 Comments
Pink is in the air as we anxiously await the arrival of a new baby girl in our family! This will be the first child for my son and daughter-in-law, and we are beyond excited for them, and for us!

We can’t wait to meet her and to see what her sweet little face looks like!

I know I’m a little early, because the stork is not due to arrive until Sept 1st, but I’ve had pink on the brain with shower planning and shopping for a little girl.

So in honor of my soon to be baby granddaughter, I thought I’d post something pink!

I’ve also been on a quest to lighten up our desserts around here, and so a souffle seemed the way to go since I was lucky enough to come across some beautiful raspberries. I looked on the Internet for some recipes and this was the one that I chose, I altered it slightly by using a little less sugar in the egg whites, and then finishing it off by pouring a little raspberry liqueur right down the center.

This dessert takes no time at all if you use your food processor to puree your berries, but remember that raspberries have lots of seeds, so you have to strain it really good. Gently fold your puree into your stiff white peaks and bake, that’s it! To be honest, the puree was so good the hubby tried it on some ice cream and loved it. I might do that more often!

This was almost too light for the hubby, I think he ended up eating three! Oh well, so much for portion control!

I found this onesie the other day, I couldn’t resist, isn’t it the cutest?

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28 Comments Filed Under: Desserts Tagged: ,

Grill Up A Romaine Salad!

June 29, 2009 by 42 Comments
Want a different take on your salad? Try it grilled! This was new to me, having never done this before, but something I wanted to try for a while. My inspiration came after I saw Lori Lynn grill up some escarole wrapped in prosciutto!

I put a little different twist on mine by using romaine lettuce that was washed and completely dried, I cut it straight down the middle, brushed it with olive oil, salt and black pepper, then sprinkled grated Parmesan all over the top. Next, placed it cut side down on a hot clean grill just for a few minutes until grill marks appear. Carefully move to a platter and let cool.
The dressing was made fresh with a handful of parsley and basil that I snipped from my garden, a zest of one lemon and all the juice, some salt and pepper and finished by drizzling in some good olive oil.

This was surprisingly good, the hubby loved it and so did I, and the grilled tomatoes on the side made it even better! Next time you throw a steak, chicken or chop on your grill think of this as a side.

GARDEN UPDATE

Hubby’s green thumb is proving true, everything is lush and green in our garden. The tomato plants are bushy and tall with little tomato’s starting to come out all over. Peppers are arriving as well as tiny zucchini and eggplant, as you can see the broccoli is coming along and so is my Swiss chard. I can’t wait to cook with all of this! We’ve already had salads with some greens we planted, and some onions. I’m happy to say I don’t have to buy any herbs from the store, I now can walk out and get my own!! Woo Hoo!

Buon Appetito!
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42 Comments Filed Under: Salads, Side Dishes, Summer Tagged: , ,