Too Hot to Cook? Don't Grin and Take it - Grill and Bake It!

If you have a gas grill with a hood, did you know that you can use it as an oven? Mine has a thermometer on it that’s fairly accurate, but lacking that you can use a regular oven thermometer to regulate the temperature.

 

The other night I made a nice big meatloaf “in” the grill! I used a metal pan, of course, and covered it with foil. Once the grill was up to temperature I turned off all but one burner, and placed the meatloaf pan on the off-fire side. (Use your own meatloaf recipe: mine is pretty much whatever sounds good at the time.) I kept it there at about 400 degrees for an hour, then removed the foil and cooked until it registered 170 on the instant meat thermometer. This is one of the few places I like ketchup. Spread it over the top of the meatloaf when you remove the foil it gives the loaf a nice saucy top.

 

Meantime, I prepared some veggies in a grill pan:

Medium zucchini cut in two lengthwise.

Slabs of yellow onion sliced ½ inch thick.

“Mini” stuffed sweet peppers. Slit the peppers lengthwise, then make a small slash across the top under the stem cap. (Leave stems on.) Slip the cheese into that slit. Add a small leaf of fresh basil, tucking it in over the cheese but letting the point stay over the top.  

Drizzle good quality extra virgin olive oil over the veggies, then shake on salt, peper, and some herbs – I used Italian seasoning mix (except on the peppers) but suit yourself.  

Grill until the veggies are to your liking. It’s best to leave the peppers a bit crisp and the others cooked to just-soft stage with a little firmness left in them. 

Remove the meatloaf from the grill, cover with foil, and set it aside to rest while you grill the veggies.  (Resting will condense the juices back into the meat. If there is a lot of fat or liquid, pour it off after resting the loaf.)

There you go – a simple meal. Add bread or salad or whatever if you feel you need something more. 

Meatloaf leftovers are wonderful in cold sandwiches, or heated up in the microwave for another supper entrée. It’s even better the second time around when the flavors have melded!

 

 

 

Keeping Cool: Grill Delights and Lusty Pasta Salad

Well into the second week of records heat with A/C (it broke last year – or rather, died. There’s a blog about that.) and I’m pulling out some favorite beat-the-heat recipes and cooking methods.

It’s time for light fare and cooking on the grill. 


Stuffed chicken thigh, grilled corn on the cob, asparagus
wrapped in bacon

Corn on the cob:

In the microwave: cut off the stem end at the shoulder and plonk your corn into the microwave. 2 large ears at 100% for six minutes. Let it rest, then shake the corn out of the husk. If that doesn’t work, just peel off the husk – carefully, it’s going to be piping hot.  

On the grill: soak the outer husk of the corn under running water. It will make life easier if you cut off the blossom end (with all the silk). Place on the grill – direct heat at first, then move off the heat and let it continue to steam until the rest of the meal is ready. 3 or 4 minutes each side on direct heat, then move it. Move it before the time is up if it starts charring or smoking!

  Asparagus: break off the tough ends. In a small tray or corn dish pour a thin layer of olive oil Sprinkle in salt and pepper if desired, plus some complimentary dried herbs. A commercial blend is fine….lemon/herb, Italian, Greek, Moroccan, garden, fine herbes, whatever appeals to you. Roll the asparagus in the flavored oil and place across the grate over medium heat. Turn over when one side is striped with grill marks. Cook until crisp-tender.

 

Asparagus with bacon: wrap bacon around a small bundle of asparagus stalks (about 3), secure with toothpicks, grill until bacon is cooked and asparagus is crisp-tender.

Asparagus and portabella mushrooms: Snap tough ends off asparagus and cut the stalk into about three pieces (depending on length – pieces should be about 2-2/3 to 3 inches long). Wash portabellos, trim off end of stem. Cut the caps into chunks about 2 x 2. You can clean out some of the gills by scraping them out after you cut the mushroom in two, but it isn’t necessary. Toss all of these pieces in an oil and herb mix (as above) and place in a grill pan. Grill over medium heat until asparagus in crisp-tender, tossing or stirring several times. 

Grilled Pineapple: cut peeled fresh pineapple vertically into strips about 3-4 inches long. Brush with oil and lay on a hot grill. When one side has nice grill marks, turn the pieces over and top with brown sugar. Continue to cook until the sugar melts to form a glaze.

Stuffed chicken thighs: remove skin and bone from chicken thigh, without cutting all the way through (leave the thigh intact). Pound out the chicken meat to make it more even in thickness. Then brush inside with pesto or a mix of olive oil, granulated garlic, and herbs. Slip in some good pepperoni slices and a slice of mozzarella cheese (note: you can use ham and Swiss or other white melting cheese, or salami and muenster, or any other combo you like. Brush the outside of the thighs with your pesto or oil mixture and place on a hot grill. Establish grill marks on both sides, about 3 minutes each, then set off heat on the grill to finish cooking. Make sure internal temperature is 165 (the chicken meat).  



Serve any combination of the above with this  

Lusty Pasta Salad with Olives and Bits

Cook a nice salad pasta – I prefer mini-farafalle. Rinse, drain, and refrigerate until cold. I like to cook extra when making a hot pasta dish, then refrigerate the surplus and use the cooked pasta in the next day or so for the salad.

2-3 cups of cooked pasta should serve about four people. Adjust amounts to your desire, need, or what’s in the fridge. Leftovers of this are great so don’t worry about having too much.

 

You can delete or add from the following ingredients, but for summer try to keep it salt-savory (olives, pickles, etc.) and light (olive oil dressing).

toss cooked cold pasta with a dash of olive oil (I like Kalamata) to separate the bits

Add as preferred: 

FINELY CHOPPED:

fresh broccoli

yellow onion

red and green bell peppers

Kalamata olives

Green olives

pickled pimento

dried crushed sun-dried tomato bits or sun-dried tomato in oil, drained and chopped

parsley

fresh or crushed dried oregano 

ADD:

pickled garlic (some Asian markets sell jars of tiny pickled garlic – perfect used whole)

capers

tiny grape tomatoes (or cut in half if fairly large) 

MIX, then add

some fruity olive oil (not too much!),

salt and pepper to taste, and toss again.  

Then add fresh grated Parmesan cheese and toss lightly.  

You could also add cooked bits of carrot or corn kernels or other vegetable bits.

Instead of the above herbs you can use a dried herb blend such as Italian.