Foil Dinners... Italian Style

Any former Girl Scouts out there who fondly remember the requisite foil dinners you would make on every troop camp out?  I loved those things.  Such a nice combo of chicken, potatoes, green beans, carrots and spicy seasoning (Lantana was my favorite!)... Mmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about them.  In fact, both my sister and I loved them so much my mom used to let us make them at home and cook them in the oven or on the grill.  I guess she gave in because they were not fussy, quite healthy, cleanup was a breeze and everyone could make their meal to suit their own taste. 

Turns out you can make lasagna foil dinners!  I had no clue you could make lasagna on the grill until I read the most recent issue of Food Network magazine.  The method works so well with my summertime aversion to oven usage.  The process is really simple and easily customizable since you're making individual serving packets and not an entire pan, which is great for a families where everyone wants something different! 

Lasagna Foil Dinners
(adapted from Food Network Magazine July/August 2011; serves 4)

12 no-boil (oven-ready) lasagna noodles
10 oz fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
pinch red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 T olive oil, plus more for drizzling
3 large tomatoes (2 sliced and 1 chopped) or 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1/4 c pesto
5 oz baby spinach
1 c Italian sausage, browned
1/3 c ricotta cheese
1/3 c fresh herbs, chopped (parsley, basil and/or mint)

1) Preheat grill to medium. Combine mozzarella, grated parmesan, red pepper flakes, 1/2 t salt and all but 1/4 t of the garlic in a bowl.  Drizzle with olive oil and toss to combine. Season the sliced tomatoes with salt.

Lasagna Foil Dinners assembly line

2) Lay out 4 double-layer sheets of non-stick foil (or just PAM you're regular foil).  Drizzle each with a little bit of olive oil, top it with a noodle and sprinkle a generous T of water on the noodle. 



First layers

 3) Divide half of the pesto, tomatoes, spinach and Italian sausage among the 4 noodles. 

My packet - all veggies, no sausage

4) Repeat steps 3 and 4 to make another layer of noodle, water, pesto, tomato, spinach and sausage.  Then finish each stack with a noodle, another T of water and a drizzle of olive oil. 



The Hubs' - diced tomatoes and Italian Sausage


5) Bring the foil together and tightly crimp to create 4 flat packets. 

6) Grill the packets with the lid closed, until they are tender.  It takes about 10 - 12 minutes per side.  Let them rest 5 minutes.

7) Meanwhile, combine the chopped tomatoes with the T of olive oil, 1/4 t garlic and chopped herbs in a small bowl. 

8) To serve: Open the packets and cut each "lasagna" in half and top with one fourth of the ricotta cheese and the tomato and herb mixture.

Add a simple green salad or some grilled green veggies to these little lasagna packets and you've got yourself one heck of a tasty meal. 

Grilled Pizza

 Who doesn't love pizza?!?!  And being able to toast it to perfection without heating up the kitchen is a bonus. 

I try to always have a few balls of PW's Pizza Dough on hand in my freezer.  They thaw in 15 - 20 minutes and are delicious. 

My take on PW's Pizza Dough (makes 2 large or 4 individual pizzas):

• 1 teaspoon Active Dry Or Instant Yeast

• 2 1/2 cups All-purpose Flour

• 1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour

• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

• ⅓ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

TO MAKE THE CRUST:

Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water.

In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined.

Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge (or freezer) until you need it.

It’s best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better.

The Hubs rolled out the dough for us.  We decided that since our tastes differ wildly, two personal pizzas would be better than sharing one large pizza.  (Oh, and this would be a good time to pre-heat the grill; medium to med-high is best)

Here is where you get clean out your fridge and use those leftovers hiding way in the back.  Dig around a little bit... the deli and veggie drawers will be key! 

And who says you have to use red sauce for a pizza?  Although it's the Hubs' favorite, I never use it. 

Pesto is my favorite.

Be creative.  Each pizza should be a reflection of its maker...

R's Unbaked Pizza

My Unbaked Pizza

You can either cook them on the cookie sheets or directly on the grill, both methods work really well.  After the first 7 or so minutes, rotate the pizzas 180 degrees and cook about 5 more minutes.  Your nose will know when the pizzas are ready, and also when you put the spatula under the pizza it will feel crispy, even in the middle.

R's Grilled Pizza

My Grilled Pizza

After taking them off the grill, let them sit 3 - 5 minutes before enjoying!

Summer Challenge

Well, it finally got hot here.  It's as if as soon as August hit, so did the heat.  Summer has been bearable up to this point, but I feel I have sweated more in the last two weeks than I have in the last 2 months!

We live in a house that is a little older and doesn't have the most energy efficient A/C unit, windows, doors or insulation.  To keep from adding unnecessary heat to the already warm kitchen/great room area of the house I issued myself a personal challenge this week:

Cook a week's worth of dinners using only my outdoor grill; no microwave, stove top or oven. 

Oh, and just to be clear I don't have a 'tricked out' outdoor kitchen with a mega-grill, fridge and sink.  I have a basic gas grill with one side burner. 

I knew this would take some forethought and that I couldn't just wing it every night if I was going to be successful. 

Here are a few pictures and highlights from the week:

Monday:
*Grilled Shrimp with Mango Sauce - too much vinegar in recipe, even using just ¼ cup; also ended up  tripling sugar. Forgot the red pepper flakes. It lacked the intense balance it needed. An okay first try, but not sure there will be a second...

Tuesday:

*Cilantro Citrus Chicken and Mango Black Bean Salsa

*Mixed Berry and Red Wine Sorbet
Divine. Paired beautifully with the peach gelato we still had.  I didn't have raspberries, so I just used some frozen mixed berries.  Once again, David Lebovitz came through. 

Wednesday: (Dinner Divas)
G hosted and made us the most fabulous lo-cal bellinis that I cannot wait to share with everyone.

Thursday: (my favorite grilled meal of the week, even though I have NO PICTURES!  I guess that's what happens when you wait until 8 pm to prepare dinner outside on one burner)

Grilled steelhead trout – not dried out at all; S&P, lemon juice from ½ lemon, a teaspoon olive oil; grilled over med-low heat, flipping twice.

Quinoa Pilaf – used garlic and walnuts, no parsley, raisins or cilantro. LOVED it!!! First quinoa experience and I'm hooked!

Grilled Artichokes with lemon garlic sauce – LOTS of work both in the prep and in eating them. Liked the dipping sauce a lot, very similar to zucchini salad dressing from cooking class. Used immersion blender and it made all of the difference.  Ended up breaking down leftover grilled artichokes and using the hearts on a Mediterranean style pizza. 

Friday:

Cowboy Burgers (from HEB) - I had a coupon and we always love 'em!  Chock full of bacon, cheese and herbs.  1/2 pound each!!!

Garlic Dill Pickles (homemade) - I will add extra mustard seed next time and maybe even make my own pickling spice so I can omit the cloves.

After the week was over I decided I had had so much fun and loved not heating my entire house that I just kept on going...

My Italian take on Shrimp and Grits...
Marinate the shrimp in cayenne, smoked paprika and salt for about 5 minutes then skewer them.
Slice a tube of prepared polenta (any flavor) in to 12 discs, brush both sided with some olive oil then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. 
Toss the broccoli florets with garlic slices, olive oil and S&P.

Grill all 3 at the same time over low to medium heat. 

I love this one because it's ready in 20 minutes and tastes delicious.

 Next time... a favorite and fun grilled meal of ours: Grilled Pizza.

Goodbye, Summer

Today is our last day of summer.  *sigh*

Although the students do not come back until the 23rd, teachers officially go back the 16th.  While I am excited for the new school year and ready to attack all of the challenges I know I will face this year, I am really going to miss my peaceful mornings. 

That's my Smudge in the background. 

A typical morning at our house includes a few cups of coffee, leisurely reading the newspaper, and taking our little kitties outside for a little exercise... many times these occur simultaneously!

The Hubs' Ajax loves the grill for some reason.

He also loves to watch little bugs, but not ever catch them. 

He's our pacifist, while Smudge is the aggressive one. 

I've been a little sad all day long about saying goodbye to my quiet mornings, so when I saw this random item on my home this afternoon, it provided me with a much needed chuckle.   

Yes, that is a life-sized replica of an elephant... hanging out in a junk yard.  You can't look at him and not at least crack a smile. 

Hope he brightens your day, too!

The Perfect Summer Dessert

My Aunt Dorothy is one of the most interesting women I know.  Really, she is.  She had (and continues to have) a fabulous career in advertising, travels the world and is a phenomenal cook.  Actually, both she and Ed are fabulous cooks.  I love hearing about their latest culinary adventures - both domestic and abroad.  So the other day when she emailed me a recipe for Apricot Gelato (or Gelato di Albicocche) that she had tweaked a bit, I knew I just had to try it. 

Dorothy's Texas-twist on an Italian treat ... using Fredericksburg peaches in place of the apricots.  Brilliant! And incredibly convenient for me considering Mom just brought me half a bushel of those juicy gems.  It's as if the planets aligned and the heavens are willing me to make this gelato.  Who am I to resist Fate?

In the process of making this gelato I learned the coolest trick for removing the skins of peaches. I've always just blanched and shocked the peaches and then peeled the skins off in frustratingly little pieces. Turns out there is a much simpler way to do it. Cut the peaches in half, remove the pits, place them cut-side down on a pan and broil them for about 12 minutes. After they cool a few minutes the skins come right off in huge sheets! (Thanks, Aunt Dorothy, for that tip)

Although there were several steps involved, none of them were particularly difficult and there is a lot of hands-off time in this recipe while you wait for things to cool or freeze.  The only special piece of equipment I needed for this recipe was an ice cream maker.  Everytime the Hubs and I want to make ice cream at home we have to borrow my parents' 25 year old machine, purchase lots of ice and rock salt and babysit the machine outside for the 30+ minutes it takes to freeze the mixtures.  While it makes delicious ice cream it is inconvenient, loud and tough to clean.  This gelato recipe provided me with the perfect excuse to purchase my own quiet, easy to use and easy to clean Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker!  I see many more frozen treats on our future menus.

A quick run-down of Dorothy's procedure:
After broiling and peeling the peaches, chop them in to tiny pieces and let them hang out with some sugar for half an hour. 

When time's up add in some peach preserves, some milk, some cream and a pinch of salt (I forgot that part!) and bring the mixture to a boil. 

Strain it.  Dorothy put her mixture through a food mill, but I just ran mine through a fine mesh sieve.

Be patient, this process takes a little while!  Cool completely.  Overnight is best.  That gives the ice cream maker's bowl a chance to freeze completely, too. 

It made so much gelato mix that I had to freeze it in two batches, but then again, my ice cream maker is only 1 1/2 quarts.  It only took 20 minutes to freeze each batch in the machine and then I let it firm up a little more in my freezer before serving it. 

To say this gelato was delicious is a major understatement.  I'm already making plans to try the recipe again, but with other fruits.  One lady tried it with mulberries and said it was phenomenal. 

You have to check out Silvestro's site, and not just for this recipe, but for others too.  He seems like such a cool guy - cook, sommelier, teacher and photographer!  He also runs the Awaiting Table cooking school in Lecce, Italy... anyone up for a road airplane trip next summer?!?!

Shopping, Cooking and Eating Local

A few weeks ago my friend K and I took a cooking class at Sur La Table.  The title of the class was "Eating Local: Casual Summertime Dinner", based on the book Eating Local by Janet Fletcher. 

It ended up being a tiny class with only 4 four students, so we got a lot of hands-on opportunities.  Carlos was our instructor for the day and did a great job. 

He is very passionate and knowledgable about eating local foods grown in sustainable ways.  We had tons of questions and he patiently answered each and every one. 

The menu for the day included a Yellow Tomato Gazpacho,

Grilled Country Pork Chops with Bourbon Basted Grilled Peaches,

and a Summer Squash Carpaccio with Arugula, Pecorino and Almonds.
 

 
I ended up eating all of this, plus a little more of the salad. 
 

To say the meal was delicious would be an understatement. 

For dessert it was a Cornmeal Shortcake with Farm Stand Berries - which I did not get pictures of because I was too busy stuffing my face.  Ooops. 

Because of this class (and Carlos' passion) we dragged brought our husbands along with us to the Urban Harvest Farmer's Market at Eastside yesterday.  Although it was a little warm outside, the trip was well worth it! 

R just a new camera this week (Canon 5D Mark II) and was itching to play with it.  This market provided the perfect opportunity.  Check out his handywork below...

M and S: Rockin' the Baby Bjorn

She loved that Mint Limeade! 

So many to choose from and they all look good.

The passion each of the farmers/vendors had for the food they were bringing to market was amazing. All of the food was beautiful and quite tasty.

We ended up purchasing some tomatoes, cucumbers (to pickle this week), a watermelon, aged goat cheese, cured pork belly, andouille sausage, free-range chicken tenders and a dozen free-range brown eggs.

The egg, bacon and cheese sandwiches we had for dinner last night were phenomenal.  It's going to be a great week!

Peachy Keen

(The Hubs so kindly agreed to professionally document our session this morning.  All photos in this post are his work.  I want to make sure to give credit where credit is due.) 

Meet my friend Shannon.  She's the girl on the right.  That's me on the left.  No, we weren't mad at each other, we were simply "divinding and conquering".

No, we weren't mad at each other, we were simply "dividing and conquering".

Shannon really likes to cook too.  That makes it really easy to be friends with her.  Well, that and the fact that she is one of the kindest (and funniest) people I know.  This girl has a heart of gold. 

The last 2 Wednesdays we have gotten together to cook and it's been a blast!  Last week was biscotti, homemade nutella and nutella panna cotta.  So basically, chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. 

This week Shannon wisely suggested we be a little healthier and chose this fabulous menu:

Peach and Brie Quesadillas  

Served with Grilled Peaches over Arugula with Goat Cheese and Prosciutto.

(For dessert I picked another recipe from Real Simple - Irene's Peach Surprise...but more about that tomorrow.)

Anyone picking up on a theme here? 

Since we really didn't vary from the way each of the recipes were written, I won't worry with typing in detail about steps and procedures.  Instead, I will let the Hubs' pictures explain it all.  Enjoy!

The Prep Work:

Of course there were peaches to deal with.  Lots of peaches.

There were also ingredients other than peaches to prep -

Chives

Brie

Limes and Eggs

And sauces / dressings to make -

Honey Balsamic Syrup

Honey Lime Dipping Sauce

Cooking and Assembling:

Quesadillas first -

Now for the salad -

 

(a sprinkle of crispy prosciutto)

(a drizzle of honey balsamic syrup)

I'm not sure if there was more laughing or cooking going on -

Lunch is Served:

My favorite Taste-Testing Neighbor joined us for lunch.  (She is a professional taster, you know.) 

Both dishes paired nicely with the Riesling I had chilling in the fridge.  The recipe also said a Chenin Blanc would work well. 

All 3 of us agreed there was not a thing we would change about the salad.  To say it was delicious would be an understatement.  A definite keeper. 

We also all agreed that while the quesadillas were good, they fell a bit flat in the flavor department.  Even with the dipping sauce (which was very good) they still lacked pizazz.  Georgia suggested adding cinnamon to the peaches mix and Shannon suggested cilantro.  Either (but not both at the same time!) would make a delightful addition.

Coming tomorrw: Dessert re-cap and why we re-named it Baked Georgia.