Sweet Potato and Poblano Salad with Honey and Rosemary Dressing

Last week I got my first issue from my new subscription of Bon Appetit.  I’ve been reading this magazine for sometime now but never subscribed to it.  Instead I opted to pay $4 to $5 a pop for each issue.  Finally I got wise and got a subscription, which is much more economically friendly.

This month’s issue has a lot of grilling recipes, which of course makes sense because it is grilling season after all.  However I am not much of a griller.  I am a true and proud pansy when it comes to the heat.  The idea of standing outside in the heat in front of a equally hot grill is just not my choice of fun.  I leave hot sweaty grilling up to the Hubby.  Meanwhile I hang out inside in air conditioning, sipping on a nice cool Arnold Palmer. 

Arnold Palmer is not some fella I have stashed away in my house while Hubby is outside grilling.  No worries.  An Arnold Palmer is what I believe to be one of the most refreshing beverages for a hot summer day.  It is equal parts sweet tea and lemonade.  Takes putting lemon into you tea to another level.  It gets its name from the golfer Arnold Palmer whose favorite drink  is a combination of half iced tea and half lemonade.

Oooops, got a little side tracked.  Back to the food.

Hubby was in the mood to grill.  Which I am always cool with as long as I don’t have to stand outside in the heat.  We agreed that some sweet potatoes would be nice but I didn’t want your hum-drum, butter + brown sugar + cinnamon sweet potato.  There just had to be another way to prepare sweet potatoes. 

Then I remembered seeing this recipe in my new magazine and I was all over it.  I will admit I was skeptical.  I had never had a sweet potato “salad”.  When I though of sweet potato, I always thought of them as sweet.  I always thought of pie or  you know the casserole with the toasted marshmallows on top.  Needless to say the concept of putting scallions, poblano pepper and dressing over my sweet potato was very new to me.  I guess when it comes to sweet potato you can say I am simple.

Well let me assure you their is no reason to fear the savory sweet potato.  The potatoes were nice and tender with just a little bit of a crisp from the edges.  The salad has sweetness to it because of the potatoes and the honey in the dressing.  It also has a little bit of a bite…actually a nip, from the white wine vinegar and just the smallest amount of heat from the poblano pepper.  When you think poblano pepper you think “hot”, or at least I did, but it is a surprisingly very mild heat.  It may have been down played by the sweet potato but the combination of all the flavors melded very well together.

The entire salad was devoured and will be one of my new go to BBQ recipes. 

Print Recipe

 Sweet Potato and Poblano Salad with Honey and Rosemary Dressing  (adapted from Bon Appetit)

• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot (about 1 small)
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• Dash of Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 1/2 pounds red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams), peeled, quartered lengthwise
• Canola oil or vegetable oil (for brushing)
• 2 fresh poblano chiles (about 8 ounces total),* seeded, diced
• 1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced diagonally (about 2)

Preheat barbecue (medium heat). Brush potato wedges with canola oil, sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Grill potatoes 20 to 30 minutes, turning frequently. Transfer potatoes to work surface, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces, set aside to cool.

Whisk first 6 ingredients in small bowl. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place potatoes, poblanos and green onions in large bowl. Drizzle dressing over; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Seasoned Skirt Steak with Grilled Vegetables

It is summer time and everyone wants to grill, except for me.  I have come to a realization that I am just not a fan of the heat, but I love me a good steak on the grill.  Now don’t get me wrong I am not a complete woosie when it comes to the heat.  I am fine when it is 85 to 90, but anything remotely approaching 100 degrees is not cool, literally.  This is why husbands are handy.  They just love to be outside in front of a hot grill cooking them some meat.   It’s really a perfect arrangement, I prep the food and he grills it.  This way I can stay inside with the air conditioning and I do not have to stand in front of a hot stove. Sweet!

This dish is probably one of our favorites.  Especially the vegetables, we probably eat these several times a week during the summer.  It is the easiest and yummiest side dish for us.  I have made it multiple times for guest and they just love them.  To top it off the vegetable side dish is a Weight Watchers recipe.

Read more

Memorial Day Weekend Onion Straws

Ok so I have been MIA for a few days.  What do you expect I am on vacation in Florida and to my relief it hasn’t been raining as much as we thought it would.  We have actually been able to enjoy the sun and go to the beach. Oh and did I mention the little chunk of skin that I missed with the sun block?  It’s nice and red, right in the fat fold of my arm.  It looks just lovely when I wear a tank top.   Fabulous!

Well while we were at the beach Hubby and I prepared hamburgers for everyone.  I wanted to make something that would change them up a bit.  I made these onion straws.  They are SUPER easy and delicious.  You can use them as a topping on your burgers and hot dogs or you can just have it as a side.   I top my burger with cheddar cheese, onion straws and bar-b-que sauce soooooo good!

Onion Straws

1 Large Onion, thinly sliced
1 cup of Buttermilk
2 cup of flour
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp of garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp oregano
or 1/2 Tbs Adobo

Heat vegtable oil in a large heavy skillet on medium high heat.

In 3 shallow bowls place 1 cup of flour, buttermilk and 1 cup of flower with the seasonings.

Dredge the onions in the flour, then buttermilk and finally the seasoned flour.

Fry in the oil until crisp and golden brown, about 3 minutes. Turning them as necessary.

Remove from the skillet and drain on a plate with paper towels. Serve warm.

Super easy peasy!

ENJOY!

Guava BBQ Chicken Thighs

Yesterday I had the day off and I decided to take advantage of it.  I spent the day cleaning up my house and experimenting in the kitchen.   I left for the grocery store with one idea in mind and by the time I finished shopping and got home I had another.  First I was going to do a simple guava glaze over the chicken, but I couldn’t find any guava jelly.  Instead I got some guava paste but I was pretty sure that I was going to have to scratch the glaze idea because the paste is so much denser, so I figured I would do a BBQ instead.  Then for some reason, don’t ask me why I though why don’t I put some chocolate into this? 

When I got home all I had in mind was guava and cocoa powder.  I basically just started throwing things in the pot.  I tried to keep track of how much of what I put in there and I think I did ok.  Measurements aren’t exactly my thing when I cook. I just add a little of this….a pinch of that and so on.    At first I thought I was making a mess, but I was very pleased with the final result and Hubby gobbled it up.   I served the chicken with yellow rice and pigeon peas, which is somewhere else on this blog.    I hope I got this all down right.  I may comeback and tweek this post in the future.

Guava BBQ Chicken Thighs

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/2 cup of guava paste
1 Tbs cocoa powder
1 Tbs olive oil
3 large cloves of garlic, pressed
1 Tsp lime juice
1/2 cup water
2 Tbs ketchup
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 Tbs onion powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
salt & pepper to taste
cilantro, to garnish

 Instructions

Trim fat off of chicken thighs.  Place chicken in a large bowl, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt & pepper, set aside.

Preheat broiler to norm.

Heat oil in a sturdy pot and saute the garlic, add guava paste, lime juice and water.  Stir constantly at a medium-high heat, until guave paste dissolves and it’s smooth. 

Add in the remaining ingrediants, cook on a medium-high heat for about 5 mins, constantly stirring.

Pour sauce over chicken and completely coat chicken, reserving abt 1/4 cup. 

Cover broiling pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.  Place chicken on pan and broil for 7 minutes on each side, or until done, brushing sauce over chicken 1/2 way through.     

Serve hot, garnish wiht cilatro.

Enjoy!

Creole Rib Eye Steak with Bell Pepper Rings

 

Today I guess I decided to cook some man food, but I made it look pretty.   lol.  I found this recipe on foodnetwork.com by Emeril Lagasse.  What caught my attention were the bell pepper rings.  They are just like onion rings but made with bell peppers.  I used both green and red peppers.  I think that the rings were the best part of the meal, but that was because I over salted the meat.   The recipe calls for 4 steaks and I only made 2 and forgot to make the adjustments for it.  Oops.  Even though I over seasoned the steaks they still were quite yummy.  The seasoning is very potent, when I was cooking up the steaks it burned the back of my throat a little.   Although I went a LOT lighter on they cayenne pepper.   I topped the dish of with some simple creamy mashed potatoes to counter balance the over seasoning of the steak.

The bell pepper rings are delicious and a great side item for any dish if you want to spruce up a sandwich or burger. I think that the red bell pepper was better then the green bell pepper.

Read more

Where’s The Beef?

 

 Wheres the beef?

At Perry’s Food Store

1005 S Lewis Ave
Tulsa, OK 74104
918-583-2000

Summer is approach even though Spring doesn’t seem to want to stay.  During the Summer my Hubby loves to grill and smoke, so today we headed out to get some supplies.  If you live in the Tulsa area I am sure you have heard of Perry’s Food Store.  It is a very popular and well know meat market in Tulsa.    We went there and picked up 2 bags of wood chunks, plum and apricot and a box of their SUPER VARIETY PACK. 

In this pack you get the following items for a grand total of $73.90

• 1lb Double Smoked Bacon
• 1 Beef Roast (appox 3lbs)
• Schwab Ham Slice
• 5 lb Ground Beef
• 1 Fryer (cut, appox 3lbs)
• 6 Center Cut Pork Chops
• 2 Rib Eye Steaks
• 1lb Little Pig Sausage
• 1lb Italian Sausage
• 1 Round Steak
• 1 Sirloin.

They have several different variety packs that range from $55.50 to $94.90.  If your in Tulsa and you need meat this is where you need to go.   It is funny how excited Hubby can get about buying meat and wood, almost as excited as I get when I get a new pair of shoes. LOL

I can tell you the beef is in my freezer.  I wonder what we will come up with this Summer with all this MEAT, stay tuned!

Peanut Butter and Turkey Burger?

Yeah you read it right a Peanut Butter Turkey Burger.  I found the recipe on A Good Appetite and like she said don’t let the PB scare you, this is a gooooood burger.  If you like Asian cuisine you will like this burger, just think of an Asian dish with peanuts & ginger in it, it’s a very similar taste to that.