Archive for the Category ◊ Grilling ◊

14 Jul 2010 Grilled Ahi Tuna
Author:  |  Category: Grilling, Main Dish, Seafood, Seasonal, Teaching Boys to Cook Series  | Tags: , , , ,  | 2 Comments

Ahi Tuna…, grilled…, rare…, it’s not just restaurant fare, you know! Costco sells great Ahi Tuna, and it’s not too expensive! There’s nothing fishy about this! Ahi Tuna is absolutely wonderful, it’s good for you, it can be bought for a reasonable price, and it can be on the table in less than 30 minutes. If you haven’t already tasted Ahi Tuna and fallen in love with it, I am not even going to try and convince you to try it. STAY AWAY! Leave it alone! We love it and we want it on the shelves when we go shopping.

Grilled Ahi Tuna Steaks

One or two 3/4 inch to 1 inch thick tuna steaks (about 4-5 oz. per person)
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar (have also made with white balsamic vinegar)
2 Tablespoons BBQ sauce
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Combine all ingredients into a shaker or blender. Mix well. Marinate fish in 1/2 vinaigrette for 20 minutes or so. (Set the remaining 1/2 of vinaigrette aside for later use, you will use 1/4 to baste the tuna, and the last 1/4 to pour over the grilled tuna).
Heat the grill (or the grill pan), rub grill with oil (or place small amount of oil in the pan).
Place marinated Ahi Tuna on the heated surface. Quickly baste fish with 1/2 of reserved vinaigrette (save the last 1/4 for pouring over finished fish).
Grill for 90 seconds to 120 seconds on first side. There should be a VERY light golden brown color on the surface of the steak. Flip. Grill for another 90 to 120 seconds.  DO NOT OVER COOK. You should be lightly searing the outside of the tuna, leaving the inside raw, not rare, raw.
Remove fish from grill and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices. Pour remaining 1/4 of vinaigrette over the sliced Ahi Tuna and serve.
Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today,

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10 Jul 2010 Hamburgers Italiano
Author:  |  Category: Grilling, Main Dish, Red Meat, Sandwiches, Teaching Boys to Cook Series  | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,  | Leave a Comment

The boy child cooks again! He likes all things sausage. So I gave him this recipe to try, a twist on the basic hamburger. It’s a pretty darn good burger, a very nice blend of beef and sausage accented with fresh basil and parmesan cheese. I taught him how to make his own “bun”, too, which often tastes better than those sesame covered packages ones. Toast two slices of good bread (in our case sourdough from Le Boulanger, although I love Trader Joe’s Cornbread Rye). Cut toast to fit the size and shape of the hamburger patty, slip the patty between the two slices of toast, and he was all set–after loading up on ketchup. I had him use a hamburger mold to form the patties. It’s a good tool for a beginner cook. I’ll have to add that to the growing list of kitchen essentials. I had him use a timer to cook the patties, too. It’s a skill to cook a patty all the way through. A timer helps.

Hamburgers Italiano

3/4 lb. ground beef
3/4 lb. sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 c. thinly sliced fresh basil
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 T. Dijon mustard
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. pepper

Break beef and sausage into small pieces in a large bowl. Add cheese, basil, garlic, mustard, salt and pepper. Using a fork, lightly mix ingredients together. Divide meat into 4 or 6 portions (we make 6, about 4.5 oz. each) and flatten to 3/4 – 1 inch thick. Place on hot grill. Grill for 2-4 minutes on first side, and 3-4 minutes on second side. Drain on paper towel if you want, then place on bun, or toast cut to fit the burger, or a toasted English muffin. Add condiments and veggies as desired.

Thanks for visiting the kitchen today!

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10 Jul 2010 Bacon Cheeseburgers
Author:  |  Category: Grilling, Main Dish, Poultry, Sandwiches  | Tags: , , , , , ,  | Leave a Comment

Once again, I forgot to take a picture of this recipe…, so I lifted this image off the Internet. To make you hungry!

We’ve eaten a lot of burgers this week (I hope my iron count went up, and my cholesterol was unaffected…) Each one of the three recipes I have posted makes a very different tasting burger. They are all good! This is an easy way to make a bacon cheeseburger. I like bacon cheeseburgers!

Enough burgers now though. My kids have passed Hamburgers 101. They have the basics. They know what can be done. I hope they have fun creating their own signature burger one day. I wonder what they will come up with. I can’t wait until they invite me over for a backyard BBQ one day… Ah, the sweetness of a mom’s daydreams!

All-in-the-patty Bacon Cheeseburgers

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
8 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped finely
4 tsp. yellow mustard
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. pepper

Break beef into small pieces into a large bowl. Add cheese, bacon, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Using a fork, lightly mix ingredients together. Divide meat into 4 or 6 portions and flatten to 3/4 – 1 inch thick. Place on hot grill. Grill for 2-4 minutes on first side, and 3-4 minutes on second side.

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10 Jul 2010 My Basic Hamburger Recipe
Author:  |  Category: Grilling, Main Dish, Red Meat, Sandwiches  | Tags: , , , , ,  | Leave a Comment

not my picture, but it's a great one, and mine look just like that. I hope "they" don't mind that I borrowed it.

Many people have their own much loved hamburger recipe. I got started late. I don’t have an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G recipe, but I have three good and different ones. This one is my basic hamburger recipe. (It’s from “America’s Test Kitchen”.) It’s basic. There are no surprises. Everyone likes it. If I ever get some homegrown beef, and learn to grind my own meat blend, this might be an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G burger. Right now, it’s a GOOD burger which can easily be made GREAT, and here’s how! 1. Pay attention to the bun. Make your own…, or go out of your way to find a good one. 2. Make the patty FIT the bun. Cook the patty well. No dried out burgers please. No raw in the middle burgers, either, thank you. 3. Have “to die for” condiments-grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, great cheese, apple smoked bacon, homegrown tomatoes, crisp lettuce, sliced avocado, ketchup, mayo, mustard, and pickle relish. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

Basic Hamburgers

1 slice of good bread
2 T. milk
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 T. A-1 steak sauce
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

Cut the crust of the slice of bread then finely dice. Put in the bottom of a large bowl and add milk. Mash bread into milk until homogenous. Stir in the salt, pepper, garlic, and steak sauce. Break up beef and add to bread mixture. Using a fork, lightly mix ingredients together. Divide meat into 4 or 6 portions and flatten to 3/4 – 1 inch thick. (I like my patties to be between 4 1/2 and 5 oz.). Place patties on hot grill (or in hot frying pan). Grill for 2-4 minutes on first side, and 3-4 minutes on second side.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today,

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