Top Ten Fruits for Grilling

Fresh-picked fruit from your garden and the heat of the grill can be a fabulous combination. Grilling fruit intensifies its flavor and sweetness. The look of grilled fruit is appealing, too, with deep brown grill marks that denote caramelization and provide a rustic appearance.

Top Ten Garden-Grown Fruits for the Grill

Gardeners can grow many types of fruits, from berries to orchard fruits, and most of them work well on the grill.  

Even small, homegrown berries can be scattered fresh over grilled fruit, then served with ice cream or frozen yogurt. Here are ten fruits that you can grow in your garden and that translate well to the grill.

Apples. lGolden Delicious apples, cut into slices and then cored, are naturally sweet and stand up well to the heat of the grill, softening quickly without drying out. Other types of apples such as Jonathan Granny Smith can be stuffed, then roasted over indirect heat.

Berries. S  Strawberries do well on skewers and only need a minute or two. Smaller fruits such as  blueberries and blackberries can be  stir-grilled with other fruits or scattered over a planked cheese on the grill.

Cherries.  Pitted first, sweet cherries also do well on skewers over the grill grates. Turn once.

Citrus. Oranges, lemons and limes can be cut in half, then grilled cut-side down until the natural sugars caramelize.

Figs. Grilled whole or cut in half, sweet figs do well as appetizers or desserts.

Grapes. Grill a whole cluster of grapes, until the grapes have good grill marks, then turn with tongs to grill the other side.
Melon. There’s more to melon that just eating it raw. Try grilling slices of cantaloupe or honeydew to bring out their sweetness.

Pears.  Juicy ripe-but-still-firm pears take to grilling and planking for salads and desserts.

Persimmons. Japanese persimmons, especially the Fuyu variety, can be cut in half and grilled so their sweet, bland flavor gets a little boost.
Stone fruits. Apricots, peaches, plums, and nectarines—fruits that have a stone or pit in the center—do well cut in half, pitted, and grilled.

Honeyed Blackberries with Grilled Pound Cake

Though the berries aren’t grilled, the sauce is cooked on the grill along with the grilled slices of pound cake. The butter content in the pound cake is enough to keep it from sticking to the grill grates, so you do not need to brush the slices with oil or butter. Adapted from The Gardener and the Grill. 

Serves 4

1 cup heavy whipping cream

4 cups blackberries

6 tablespoons honey, divided

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 (1-inch) slices of pound cake

Prepare a hot fire in your grill. Whip the cream with an electric mixer or a whisk until it holds medium peaks, about 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside.

In a heavy saucepan that can be used on the grill or on a grill side burner, combine the blackberries, 4 tablespoons honey, lemon juice, and cinnamon.

Set the saucepan over the heat and stir to blend, cooking until the mixture begins to bubble.

At the same time, grill the pound cake slices for about 3 to 4 minutes per side until they get good grill marks.

Stir 2 tablespoons of the remaining honey into the whipped cream with a light touch.

To serve, set a slice of grilled pound cake on each plate. Spoon the warmed berries over the cake and top with the honeyed whipped cream.

Summer Dishes from India

After a weeks of 100-degree days and no rain, the Kansas City area feels like the Kalahari desert must--hot, dry, and foreign.  The shimmering heat also reminds me of photos you see of India during the dry season. Oh, for a monsoon!


So, the Les Dames d'Escoffier Kansas City cooking class I attended on Summer Foods of India was extremely timely.   People who live in India face extremes in climate as a regular occurrence (like people who live in the Midwest!), and their food helps them cope.  Our cooking class instructor Jyoti Mukharji, trained as a physician, gave us a taste of Indian home cooking we rarely get in restaurants, plus a peek into another culture. 


According to Jyoti, dishes meant for hot weather have the ancient ayurvedic properties 
of cooling the body.

Sprinkling Salt on Curried Watermelon 

In India, "vegetarian" doesn't only mean no-meat. It also means no onion or garlic, as these ingredients are said to increase body heat much the way that meat does.  In a very traditional family, a widow can never remarry, no matter how young she was when her  husband died.  She also must eat a vegetarian diet for the rest of her life, so no dishes with onion or garlic ever again.


Along the way, Jyoti also gave us 


Shopping tips: Indian herbs, spices, rice, and dried beans and chickpeas are much less expensive at an Indian market. Buy in bulk, then share with friends.


Spice tips: Use a special coffee grinder to freshly grind whole spices for a much more fragrant and flavorful recipe. Try smoky-flavored black cardamom or tiny black nigella seeds in curries, flatbreads, and vegetable dishes.


Curry tips: With onion/ginger/garlic for the flavor base, tomato for body and color, and yogurt to finish, you have the blueprint for just about any curry. You customize with herbs, spices, and other vegetables. Serve the curry with basmati rice.


My favorite dish of the evening is also the easiest to prepare and one of Jyoti's signature recipes.


Curried Watermelon


This recipe by Jyoti Mukharji balances the sweetness and crunchiness of watermelon with more pungent spice. Tiny black nigella seeds, often used to flavor naan, add a slight onion-like flavor and pleasing texture.  The classic combination of citrus-like coriander (the seed head of the cilantro plant) and hot and earthy cumin round out the flavors.  If you want to make this ahead, wait to sprinkle on the salt and toss to blend right before serving.    


Serves 4 to 6


1 small, seedless watermelon, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon nigella seeds (tiny black seeds in the onion family)
3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt to taste


Place the watermelon in a large serving bowl.
In a small pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the nigella seeds until they begin to sizzle and turn fragrant. Quickly add the coriander and cumin, gently shake the pan, then take off the heat. Stir the oil and spice mixture several times, then pour over the watermelon. (Can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated at this point.)


Right before serving, sprinkle with salt to taste and toss the watermelon. Serve chilled. 

Grilling "Au Pif"

Sometimes recipes and meals just come together from what you have on hand. The French call that cooking "au pif." 


I was out to prove that you can also grill that way.  So, I looked in my garden, and the heirloom Pencil Pod yellow wax beans

(grown from seed from Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa) were ready to harvest.


I foraged in my backyard, and picked up lots of seasoned pin oak twigs (any hardwood like oak, fruit woods, hickory, maple, or even dried domestic or wild grapevines would also work).


I peeked in my garage, and there was plenty of charcoal.


And when I checked my refrigerator, I had chopped pancetta, a bunch of green onions, and--whoa!--a wild-caught salmon fillet with the skin still on one side.


So, the entree came together as


Oak-Roasted Salmon with Stir-Grilled Pencil Pod Beans, Pancetta, and Scallions


And it was delicious! A glass of crisp white wine or a mellow pinot noir, and life is good. No heavy sauces, just the honest flavors of wood smoke and caramelization.

Here is what I did.  


Oak Roasted Salmon


Salmon grilled this way is no muss, no fuss, all-delicious. You don't have to turn the salmon and it holds together beautifully because the skin is still on, but crispy after grilling. You can also do this, however, with a skinless fillet--just make sure you brush the underside well with olive oil, too.  The salmon takes on a smoky flavor but is crispy in parts as well. 


1 wild-caught salmon fillet, skin on one side, trimmed to fit on your grill
Olive oil for brushing
Salt and pepper


1. Prepare an indirect fire in your grill, with the heat on one side and no heat on the other. I used a small Weber kettle grill, but you could do the same on a gas grill. The salmon needs to cook next to but not over the heat.

I started the charcoal in a charcoal chimney

2. When the coals have ashed over, add hardwood twigs, pieces, or chunks to the coals.

3. When you see the first wisp of smoke, place the salmon on the indirect or no-heat side, the skin side of the salmon on the grill grates. 

Close the lid of the grill and roast for 35 to 45 minutes or until the salmon turns opaque, is milky on the top, and begins to flake when tested with a fork in the thickest part.

While you're waiting for the salmon to finish, you can prep the beans.


Stir-Grilled Pencil Pod Beans, Pancetta, and Scallions


The traditional recipe for yellow wax beans usually involves the sweet/sour German method of cooking bacon and onion together, then adding vinegar, then tossing with teh cooked beans.  This updated recipe just mixes that up a little bit. You can double this recipe, if you like.  The beans will take about 5 minutes longer to cook.

2 cups yellow wax or green beans, tops trimmed
1 bunch scallions  cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup chopped pancetta
Salt and pepper
Balsamic vinegar


1.  When the salmon is done, remove it to a platter and tent with foil to keep warm. Add more wood and charcoal to the fire, if necessary.


2. Place the beans, scallions, and pancetta in a grill wok, which is a metal grill gadget that has holes punched in the surface to the good grill flavors come through without ingredients spilling out. You can find grill woks at hardware and big box stores.

3. When you see the first wisp of smoke, place the grill wok on the direct heat side. Close the lid of the grill and grill for 3 minutes. Toss the ingredients with two long-handled wooden spoons or two long-handled grill paddles. Close the lid and keep grilling and tossing the ingredients 

until the beans are crisp-tender and a little charry, about 15 to 20 minutes total.  Transfer the beans to a serving dish, season with salt and pepper, and pass the balsamic vinegar at the table so guests can sprinkle a little on their stir-grilled beans.


For more stir-grilling recipes and ideas, check out

Too Hot to Cook Day

It's 105 sizzling degrees in Kansas City and we're having a "grill advisory" because of drought conditions.


That means it's too hot to cook and too dry to grill without tempting fate.  So what's a foodie to do?


Chop.


Puree.


Chill.


Assemble.


Eat.


This easy dip, adapted from a recipe by the Barefoot Contessa, is delicious with raw veggies from the garden, crackers, or spread on grilled flatbread (see June's blog posts)  topped with crumbled bacon and chopped tomatoes.  


I've even slathered it on my morning toast, but then I'm a blue cheese person devoted to Maytag.

Clockwise, from the 12 o'clock position on the photo, you see fresh chives, Greek yogurt (I use 0% fat Fage), chopped shallots, mayonnaise (I used Trader Joe's), Maytag blue cheese, fresh lemon juice, and minced garlic in the middle of it all.  


A few seconds in the food processor or blender, and you've got the perfectly delicious entree for Too Hot to Cook Day. Surround the bowl with green and purple endive leaves, rounds of yellow summer squash, fresh zucchini spears, cherry tomatoes, bell pepper strips, raw mushrooms, or whatever fresh veggies you like.

Maytag Blue Cheese Dip with Fresh Chives and Shallots

adapted from Barefoot Contessa: How Easy Is That? by Ina Garten

Makes 2 cups  

1/4 cup chopped shallots

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 (7-ounce) container Greek yogurt (such as Fage Total)

1/2 cup good mayonnaise

4 ounces Maytag blue cheese, crumbled

4 to 5 dashes bottled hot sauce

1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

3 tablespoons minced chives plus more for garnish

Place the shallot, garlic, lemon juice, Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, blue cheese, hot sauce, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse the food processor until the mixture is smooth and just slightly chunky, about 11 to 12 times.

Add the chives and pulse 2 to 3 times more. Transfer the dip to a bowl, cover, and chill for 2 hours.  You can eat this right away and it's delicious, but it tastes even better if you let the flavors develop. 

Serve in the center of a tray of vegetables. Cover and refrigerate any leftover dip (as if!).

A Flight of Snow Cones

For a simple summer treat, nothing beats a snow cone.   

Lindsay Laricks, of Fresher than Fresh Snow Cones, is a graphic designer from 9 to 5. But on the weekends, she pulls her vintage Shasta trailer 

to spots around town and serves up summer’s best refresher—gourmet snow cones.

These aren't day-glo syrups made from artificial ingredients, but homemade concotions with garden flavors : Ginger Rose, Blackberry Lavender, Watermelon Basil, and Green Tea Pear. 

You can order a flight of mini-snow cones, served in small paper containers, or a big one all to yourself. If you’re not fortunate enough to live in the Kansas City area, you can still make a trio of snow cones at home for a fun dessert that will beat the heat.

A Trio of Snow Cones

You can make these syrups up to 1 week ahead and keep them in the refrigerator.  You'll have a rosy pink, a pale green, and dark purple trio of icy goodness.

Adapted from Heartland: The Cookbook

Serves 4

1/2 cup Rosy Rhubarb Syrup (below) 

1/2 cup Fresh Herb Syrup (below)

1/2 cup Blackberry Lavender Syrup (below)

4 cups chopped or shaved ice (in the food processor or with an attachment to a stand mixer)

1. Mound 1/3 cup of shaved ice in each of 12 small glass bowls or ramekins. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of Rosy Rhubarb Syrup over each of 4 bowls; 2 tablespoons of Fresh Herb Syrup over each of another 4 bowls; and 2 tablespoons of Blackbery Lavender Syrup over each of the last 4 bowls. 

Rosy Rhubarb Syrup

4 cups chopped rhubarb, fresh or frozen and thawed

1 cup water

2 cups sugar

The juice of 2 lemons

1. For the syrup, place the rhubarb and water in a saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. 

Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook the rhubarb until tender and pulpy, about 10 minutes.  Strain off the rhubarb pulp, reserving the juice. Measure the juice and add enough water to equal 2 cups. Return the liquid to the saucepan over medium-high heat and stir in the sugar. Bring to a boil so the sugar dissolves, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the lemon juice, and let cool. 

Fresh Herb Syrup

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup fresh, aromatic herb leaves, packed, coarsely chopped

1.  In a large, microwave-safe glass measuring cup, combine the sugar, water, and herbs. Microwave on high until the sugar dissolves, about 3 to 4 minutes. Let the mixture steep for 20 to 30 minutes. Then, strain the mixture into a bowl and let cool.  Use right away or store in a covered glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Blackberry Lavender Syrup

A few dried lavender buds from your garden or a health food store (or culinary lavender from Penzey's) add depth and interest to this easy-to-make syrup. The lavender makes dark berries taste "berry-er." Adapted from Heartland: The Cookbook

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

1 teaspoon dried lavender buds

1 cup blackberry jam

Fresh lemon juice

1.  In a large, microwave-safe glass measuring cup, combine the sugar, water, and lavender. Microwave on high until the sugar dissolves, about 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in the blackberry jam. Let the mixture steep for 20 to 30 minutes. Season to taste with lemon juice, strain the mixture into a bowl, and let cool.  Use right away or store in a covered glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. 

Fresh Sweet Corn

All Ears

The climate of the Midwest is ideal for growing corn, which needs hot, humid summers and rich bottomland soil to be “knee high by the Fourth of July” and then ripen to sugary goodness. When it’s in season, people go nuts for it.

            Festivals like the Sweet Corn Festival in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, celebrate this delicacy every third week in August since 1953. Sure, there are the fire engine rides, a parade, a craft fair, and bingo.  But generations of sweet corn lovers—from grandparents to the newest grandchild--grab the salt shakers suspended by strings from a clothesline and gobble down ear after ear, right out of the pot.

Traditional sweet corn varieties like Silver Queen, Peaches and Cream, or Purdue Super Sweet barely make it in from the field before folks boil or grill it and eat right away. Our collective love of sweet corn is also reflected in the names of new varieties:  Temptation, Charm, Revelation, Sugar Pearl, Obsession, Passion, Gotta Have It, and Sweet Perfection. Who can resist?

“Sweet corn was so delicious, what could have produced it except sex? . . . 
People have wanted sex to be as good as sweet corn and have worked hard to improve it, and afterward they lay together in the dark and said. . . “That was so wonderful. . . . But it wasn’t as good as fresh sweet corn.” 

Garrison Keillor

 

Pan-Roasted Chicken Breasts with Tarragon Creamed Corn

Free range, organic chicken—a heritage breed, if you can find it—fresh sweet corn, and garden-grown tarragon provide the flavors in this new take on a farmhouse classic. A large, cast iron skillet, which can go from stovetop to oven, gives the crispest, most flavorful result. Cover the skillet with a lid or a sheet of aluminum foil to keep from making a big mess in your oven. Serve with a crisp, green salad and Farmhouse Yeast Rolls (adapted from Heartland: The Cookbook).

Varieties to try:  Heirloom Country Gentleman, Silver Queen, heirloom Boone County White, Butter and Sugar, or Peaches and Cream.

Serves 4

2 tablespoons Home Rendered Lard (page 000) or canola oil

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Tarragon Creamed Corn:

4 cups fresh or frozen sweet corn kernels

½ cup chopped green onions with some of the green

1 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon tarragon vinegar

1 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fresh tarragon sprigs to garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 475 °F. On the stovetop, heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat. While the pan heats up (this can take about 15 to 20 minutes), make sure the chicken is patted as dry as possible. Brush the skin side of the chicken breasts with the soft lard or oil. When the pan is smoking hot, carefully place the chicken, skin side down, and cover carefully with a lid of a sheet of aluminum foil. With heavy-duty oven mitts on, transfer the covered skillet to the oven. Roast for 10 minutes.

2. Carefully remove the hot pan from the oven and turn the chicken breasts. The skin should be beautifully golden and crisp. Generously season the skin side with salt and pepper. Cover and return the pan to the oven. Roast another 20 to 25 minutes or until an instant read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a breast registers 160 degrees.

3. Meanwhile, make the creamed corn. In a nonstick skillet over medium heat, stir the corn, green onion, tarragon, and cream together. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the corn is tender, about 5 minutes for fresh corn, 10 to 12 minutes for frozen.  Stir in the vinegar and cook for 2 more minutes. Season to taste and keep warm.

4. Remove the chicken from oven, transfer to a plate, and tent with aluminum foil to keep warm. Over medium-high heat, whisk the white wine into the pan drippings and let reduce by half, about 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice, then season to taste.  To serve, place a chicken breast on each plate and nap with the pan jus. Spoon the creamed corn onto the plate, garnish with tarragon sprigs, and serve.

Garden to Grill, Pizza to Plate

Pizza doesn't have to be loaded down with cheese and meat to be delicious.  


When you grill pizza, you get still that deep caramelized flavor of the grill.  Then, when you top that pizza with a drizzle of olive oil, some fresh veggies from your garden, and a sprinkle of aged cheese, you get big flavor.


Last week's blog post featured an easy stir-together dough.


This week's blog post is how to use this dough--and whatever toppings you like--to make 4 individual pizzas.  


Take a fourth of that dough and form it into a 6- to 8-inch circle.  


To help keep the round shape, use this method: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Brush olive oil in a circle that's a little large than your pizza, then place your pizza on the oiled circle. Brush the top of the pizza with olive oil.


Take it out to the grill that is at a medium-hot temperature.


Here's a video to show you how to flip that dough onto the grill grates.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtLH74mbf_o&feature=youtu.be

If you press on the dough when you are removing the parchment paper, the underside of the pizza will get little ridges, sort of like a waffle.  This helps any sauce or toppings hold to the pizza better. But if you don't like ridges, don't press on the parchment paper or flip the pizza over to use the other side as the "trophy" side.


When one side of the pizza has good grill marks and is easy to turn, turn it over with grill tongs and drizzle the up-side with olive oil.  Add an assortment of fresh or grilled veggies, cut into small pieces, about 2 cups total. Here, you see, clockwise, zucchini, fresh corn, carrot shreds and roasted red peppers, blackened green beans, chopped shallots, cherry tomatoes, and yellow summer squash:

Add a little grated white Cheddar, provolone, or Parmesan if you like. Move the pizza to a cooler spot on the grill and close the lid for 2 to 3 minutes or until the veggies have softened and the cheese has melted.


Here's a second video to show you both grilled pizza and flatbread. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRDb_QXYLJo&feature=channel&list=UL

If you're not quite hungry yet, then maybe gazing at the cover of
The Gardener and the Grill might do it!