Eye for a Recipe

This recipe from Great American Grilling (1996) is perfect for a summer weeknight meal and would also work for a casual dinner party. You can use a whole chicken, butterflied, or chicken pieces, as I have done here. Marinate the chicken up to a day ahead in a paste of garlic, green onions, ginger, spices and fish sauce and before grilling it.

Thai chicken on grill

I serve the grilled chicken with gai yang sauce, a hot and sweet sauce made from chiles, garlic, sugar and water. This recipe is from the July 1999 issue of Gourmet.

Gai Yang Sauce

The chicken and sauce are delicious with a Thai noodle salad, also from Great American Grilling. Cooked wheat or rice noodles, cucumbers, red pepper, green onions, cilantro and basil are tossed with a dressing made from rice vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil, hot pepper flakes and garlic. Be sure to dress the salad just before serving and add the basil at the very end.

Thai Chicken with Gai Yang Sauce and Thai Noodle Salad

To avoid additives and preservatives in this recipe, use fish sauce without MSG, such as Thai Kitchen brand. Rice vinegar and soy sauce can also contain additives, so read the label carefully. I use Marukan brand seasoned rice vinegar for this recipe and tamari instead of soy sauce.

Thai Chicken

Ingredients:

1 chicken, 3 to 3 ½ lbs (or use chicken pieces)

6 large garlic cloves, chopped

¼ cup thinly sliced green onions

1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger

½ tsp each ground coriander and coarsely ground pepper

2 tbsp fish sauce

Preparation:

If using a whole chicken, remove excess fat from chicken. Rinse chicken inside and out and pat dry. With poultry shears or knife, split chicken lengthwise through breastbone. Place, skin side up, on a flat surface, pull open, and press firmly, cracking bones slightly, until bird lies reasonably flat.

With mortar and pestle, or in a blender, grind garlic, onions, ginger, coriander, pepper and fish sauce into a coarse paste. Pat paste all over chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes or until next day.

Heat charcoal or gas grill and oil grate. Place chicken on grate and cook until meat near thighbone is no longer pink, about 50-60 minutes for whole chicken (less for pieces). Let chicken rest, covered loosely with foil, for 10 minutes before carving. Serve with gai yang sauce. Serves 4.

Gai Yang Sauce

Ingredients:

2 small fresh hot red chiles (about 2 inches long) such as Thai or serrano

4 garlic cloves

¾ cup sugar

½ cup water

Preparation:

Mince chiles (wear gloves if you are sensitive to the heat of the chiles). Mince garlic. Combine chiles, garlic, sugar and water in small saucepan and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Sauce may be made a day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before serving. Serve with Thai chicken.

Thai Noodle Salad

Ingredients:

For salad

8 ounces dried capellini, spaghetti or linguine, or thin rice noodles

1 medium cucumber, seeded and cut into thin slivers

1 red pepper, cut into thin slivers

1/3 cup each thinly sliced green onions, chopped cilantro and chopped fresh basil

For dressing

½ cup rice vinegar

¼ cup soy sauce

1 tbsp each sugar, minced fresh ginger and sesame oil

½ to 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 clove garlic, minced

Preparation:

In small bowl, combine ingredients for dressing. Bring large pot of water to boil and cook pasta until al dente; don’t overcook. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain again. Pour pasta into wide shallow bowl and top with cucumber, red pepper, onions and cilantro. Add dressing and toss. Top with basil. Serves 4.

From Great American Grilling and the July 1999 issue of Gourmet

We grew lots of zucchini this year, so my husband Bill made two batches of this delicious relish. We’ve been making it for years; it’s great with hot dogs and hamburgers, of course, but I love it with cold chicken (and have been known to eat it on crackers). It takes 3-4 hours to make, but the time invested is well worth having this condiment on hand. Added bonus: There are no additives or preservatives in these ingredients.

Ingredients:

3 lbs zucchini, finely chopped (about 9)

3 onions, finely chopped

2 sweet red peppers, seeded and finely chopped

¼ cup pickling salt

2 ½ cups granulated sugar

1 ½ cups white vinegar

1 ½ tsp dry mustard

1 tsp celery seeds

½ tsp coarsely ground pepper

½ tsp turmeric

1 tbsp water

2 tsp cornstarch

Preparation:

In large bowl, combine zucchini, onions and red peppers; sprinkle with salt and stir to blend. Let stand 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Drain in large sieve. Rinse thoroughly under cold running water; drain again, pressing out excess moisture.

In large heavy saucepan, combine sugar, vinegar, mustard, celery seeds, pepper and turmeric; bring to boil. Add drained vegetables and return to boil, stirring frequently.

Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender and liquid has thickened.

Combine water with cornstarch; stir into relish. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until liquid clears and thickens.

Pour into hot, sterilized canning jars, leaving ½ -inch headspace. Seal with prepared lids and screw on bands. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Makes 8 cups.

From Canadian Living

When I was a kid, my father used to bring home corn on the cob that had been picked 10 minutes earlier from a local cornfield. Slathered in butter and salt, it was spectacular.

I thought this basic approach corn on the cob could not be improved upon, but I was wrong. This recipe from the Barefoot Contessa’s Back to Basics cookbook definitely kicks it up a notch. Don’t get me wrong – freshly picked corn on the cob, in season, is fabulous. But most of the corn we get these days is transported over long distances, is tough or is not very sweet.

This recipe brings the best out of fresh corn, no matter what its age or sweetness, because the kernels are sautéed until they begin to caramelize, which eliminates the starchiness and toughness and brings out the sweetness. Just keep tasting the corn as you are cooking it until it’s perfect.

You can make this recipe with just corn, olive oil, butter, salt and pepper and it is delicious. But the onion, pepper and fresh herbs add lovely colour and flavour.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons good olive oil

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1 small orange bell pepper, 1/2-inch diced

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Kernels cut from 5 ears yellow or white corn (4 cups)

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil, minced fresh chives, and/or minced fresh parsley leaves

Directions:

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes, until the onion is soft. Stir in the bell pepper and saute for 2 more minutes.

Add the butter to the pan and allow it to melt. Over medium heat, add the corn, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes, until the corn just loses its starchiness. Season to taste, gently stir in the basil or other green herbs, and serve hot. Serves 6.

From the Barefoot Contessa’s Back to Basics cookbook

If you grow peas in your garden, or have ready access to them at the store or farmers’ market, I envy you. I love fresh peas, but can hardly ever find them. And they don’t do well in our garden.

So imagine how happy I was this week when Bill brought home a basket of gorgeous peas in the pod.

Fresh peas are wonderful just boiled in salted water, but I highly recommend this recipe for Petits Pois à la Française (French-style peas) from the 1984 Gourmet Cookbook, Volume I. The peas are boiled in water with butter, spring onions, shredded lettuce, sugar, salt and sprigs of parsley and chervil until almost done, and then you add a little butter and flour to make a lovely light sauce for them.

Ingredients for French-style peas

Peas and chervil were made for one another, and this is my favourite way to use this delicate herb with a mild licorice flavour.

Chervil has a mild licorice flavour

Once the peas have cooked, you stir in some flour creamed with butter and voilà – perfect peas.

French-style peas with sauteed corn and grilled chicken

French-style peas

Ingredients:

3 tbsp butter, divided (2 tbsp + 1 tbsp)

6 tiny spring onions or scallions (white part only)

5 or 6 leaves lettuce, shredded

1 tbsp sugar

½ tsp salt

3 sprigs of parsley and 3 sprigs of chervil, tied together

2 generous cups freshly shelled peas (about 2 lbs. in the pod)

½ cup water

½ tsp all-purpose flour

Place 2 tbsp butter, onions, lettuce, sugar, salt, parsley, chervil, peas and water in a saucepan. Bring to boil, cover the pan and cook rapidly for about 5 minutes, until the peas are almost done. There should only be 2 or 3 tbsp of water left in the pan. Discard the herbs and remove the pan from the heat. Add 1 tbsp butter creamed with the flour to the pan and return it to the heat, shaking it until the butter and flour mixture has combined with the liquid. As soon as the liquid boils again, remove from heat and serve the peas. Serves 2.

From The Gourmet Cookbook, Volume I, 1984

When it’s hot, hazy and humid, I like to get dinner preparations out of the way in the morning so I can avoid the kitchen during the hottest part of the day (and lounge by the pool instead). I usually marinate meat or poultry for the grill and prepare a couple of salads to accompany it. An old favourite summer salad is marinated cucumbers with red onions and sour cream. I like it because I can make it hours in advance and because is so refreshing. It’s from the barbecue cookbook I return to time and time again – The Canadian Living Barbecue and Summer Foods Cookbook published in 1989.

The secret is layering the sliced cucumbers with salt and weighing them down with a very heavy weight so they lose liquid and become soft. Be sure to use plain white vinegar and read the label of your sour cream to avoid additives and preservatives.

It’s great with steak or sticky grilled maple-orange glazed pork ribs (see my May 21, 2010 post for the recipe).

Marinated Cucumber Salad with Red Onions and Sour Cream

Ingredients:

2 English cucumbers, sliced (I peel them, but you don’t have to)

Salt

1 red onion, sliced

½ cup sour cream

2 tbsp packed brown sugar

2 tbsp white vinegar

¼ tsp dry mustard

Dill for garnish (optional)

Preparation:

In glass bowl, layer cucumbers, sprinkling each layer with salt. Cover with plate that fits inside bowl. Weigh down and let stand for at least three hours at room temperature. Drain and rinse well. Drain again and pat dry. Separate onion slices into rings and stir into cucumbers.  In small bowl, combine sour cream, sugar, vinegar and mustard. Pour over cucumber mixture and toss well. Cover and refrigerate until serving time, at least two hours. Garnish with dill, if using. Makes 8-10 servings.

From the Canadian Living Barbecue and Summer Foods Cookbook

We love all kind of grilled vegetables during the summer, and this is a recipe I make often. It is served at room temperature so can be made ahead. And you can make it even without the grill; just broil the zucchini and eggplant or cook them on a ridged grill pan. Feel free to add asparagus, radicchio, onions – the vinaigrette is delicious with everything. You can also used red pepper instead of yellow or orange.

To avoid additives and preservatives in this recipe, make sure your balsamic vinegar has no sulfites added or is labelled “contained only naturally occurring sulfites”.

Grilled Zucchini and Eggplant Salad with Sweet Pepper Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

2 medium zucchini, sliced on an angle to ¼ inch slices

1 medium eggplant, halved lengthwise and sliced into ¼ inch slices

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for brushing

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

3 tablespoons finely chopped red pepper

3 tablespoons finely chopped yellow or orange pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

½ tsp sugar

2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

Preparation:

Preheat grill to medium-high. Brush zucchini and eggplant slices lightly on both sides with olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Grill 1 to 2 minutes per side, until nicely coloured but still firm/tender. Transfer to a platter and cool to room temperature.

Arrange zucchini and eggplant slices in slightly overlapping rows on the platter.

Combine the 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil and the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Salad and dressing can be prepared to this point several hours in advance. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Warm both at room temperature for 5 minutes before finishing off the salad.

Spoon dressing over the vegetables. Let zucchini and eggplant be flavoured by the dressing for 10 minutes before serving. Serves 8.

From the August 9, 2006 issue of The Ottawa Citizen

The Victoria Day weekend is here and the weather is going to be beautiful.

And nothing goes better with a warm and sunny long weekend than ribs. Succulent, sweet and smoky ribs.

These ribs are basted with a delicious orange-maple sauce

This recipe starts with a dry rub and baking technique from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food (issue #4, July/August 2003). The ribs are then finished on the grill; during the final few minutes they are basted with a fabulous no-cook orange and maple sauce  from the LCBO’s 2007 Canada Day newspaper insert. Half the sauce is reserved for dipping. I’ve tried many rib recipes and this is my all-time favourite. They are great for entertaining because you can bake them ahead of time and then refrigerate until it’s time to grill them.

The only ingredients in this recipe that may contain additives or preservatives are the ketchup and the hot sauce. We use Heinz tomato ketchup and Tabasco hot sauce, which have no artificial ingredients. The Tabasco we use is the original recipe hot sauce; if you have another Tabasco brand sauce be sure to read the label, because some do contain artificial colour.

Be sure to reserve half the sauce for dipping!

Ingredients:

2 lbs. pork ribs (about 2 racks)

Rub

1 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine rub ingredients in small bowl. Make sure membrane is removed from ribs. Sprinkle ribs on both sides with rub mixture. If you aren’t ready to bake them, wrap the ribs in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Bring ribs to room temperature before baking.

Line bottom of baking sheet with heavy-duty foil and place a metal rack that fits inside the baking sheet on top. Place ribs, meaty side up, on metal rack. Cover tightly with another piece of heavy-duty foil. Bake for 90-105 minutes or until ribs are fork tender.

At this point, you can refrigerate the ribs until ready to barbecue or proceed directly to barbecue them. If barbecuing right away, make sure the sauce is already prepared.

Sauce

Zest of half an orange, about ½ tsp

1 large orange, juiced, about ½ cup

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup ketchup

2 tbsp white vinegar

½ cup maple syrup

½ cup brown sugar

½ tsp salt

½ tsp cumin

2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped (or ½ tsp dried)

hot pepper flakes and Tabasco to taste

Prepare sauce by combining all ingredients. Reserve half for dipping sauce. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Barbecue ribs over medium-hot grill for 15-20 minutes, turning and brushing with glaze every five minutes. You can leave the racks intact or cut into smaller portions after 10 minutes on grill. Serve with reserved sauce.

My husband’s allergies to additives and preservatives, artificial colours/flavours mean that many restaurants – and all fast-food places – are off limits.

But we love Mexican food and I often whip up a plate of nachos for a quick and tasty lunch.

These nachos are ready in five minutes

This vegetarian version includes just five ingredients – tortilla chips, red onion, jalapeno peppers, salsa and cheese. You could certainly add refried beans, cooked chicken or other toppings. We microwave our nachos, but they could also be baked in a 350-degree oven until the cheese melts.

We make our own salsa, but you can find brands that are all-natural. Look for tortilla chips made from organic corn with only salt and oil added. Many brands do contain a trace of calcium hydroxide (slaked lime). This does not bother my husband and the online guide to food additives that I consult (http://nac.allergyforum.com/additives) indicates that calcium hydroxide causes no adverse side effects in small quantities. We use Que Pasa organic corn tortilla chips and Tostidos organic yellow corn tortilla chips.

When buying cheese, be sure to check the label to ensure it does not contain colour.

Ingredients:

Tortilla chips (enough to cover a microwave safe plate or platter)

Salsa (mild, medium or hot)

Chopped red onion – ½ cup

Jalapeno pepper – 1, chopped (remove seeds and ribs if you want to reduce the heat; wear gloves to chop if your skin is sensitive to the heat from the peppers)

Monterey Jack cheese – 1 cup, grated

Preparation:

Spread chips on plate. Dot with spoonfuls of salsa. Sprinkle with chopped onions and jalapeno. Top with grated cheese. Microwave on high for 3-4 minutes or until cheese has melted

The weather is starting to warm up (finally) so I’m starting to think about salads – side, main dish, pasta – I love them all. But the salad I make the most often is mixed greens with this simple, low-cal vinaigrette. This is a family favourite and takes about 90 seconds to make. It’s also nice over cooked broccoli or asparagus. Feel free to jazz it up with hot pepper flakes, a dash of worcestershire sauce or fresh herbs.

Add a few snipped chives or other fresh herbs to this easy vinaigrette

The mildly sweet and mellow flavour of this vinaigrette comes from the rice vinegar. I’ve tried different brands, but always come back to Marukan Seasoned Gourmet Rice Vinegar (yellow lid, orange label) for the balanced flavours. It has no artificial additives or preservatives: its ingredients are rice vinegar, water, sugar and salt. For those of you who would like to avoid artificial colours/flavours and sulfites, the other ingredient in this recipe to modify is the Dijon mustard. Many Dijon mustards contain benzoate of soda and/or white wine, which may contain sulfites. I look for mustards that contain just mustard seed and water. They are becoming easier to find – check the organic aisle of your store.

Ingredients

4 tbsp regular or light olive oil, or canola oil

4 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar

4 tbsp water

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 tsp Dijon mustard

¼ tsp each salt and freshly ground pepper

Place ingredients in small jar and shake to blend. Keeps well in the fridge and makes enough vinaigrette to dress 8-10 servings of salad.

From Anne Lindsay’s Light-Hearted Everyday Cooking – 1991

This is a favourite of our family’s from the 1992 New Chatelaine Cookbook. It’s a great side dish with grilled steak.

Warm Barbecued Vegetable Salad

Ingredients:

1 large head Romaine lettuce, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces

1 zucchini

1 red pepper

1 yellow or orange pepper

1 red onion

Olive or vegetable oil

Dressing

3 tbsp balsamic or red wine vinegar

1 tsp dried tarragon

2 small garlic cloves, minced

3 tbsp olive or vegetable oil

Pinch of salt

Generous grinding of fresh black pepper

¼ cup creamy goat cheese

Directions:

Preheat barbecue to medium and grease grill. Slice zucchini lengthwise into ¼ inch slices. Seed and core sweet peppers and cut them into quarters. Cut onion into ½ inch slices (secure onion rings with toothpicks or wooden skewers to make them easy to handle on grill).  Brush zucchini, peppers and onion with oil and grill them until tender-crisp, turning often.

Meanwhile, whisk vinegar, tarragon, garlic, oil, salt and pepper in large salad bowl.

When vegetables are done, immediately slice them into bite-sized pieces and toss the warm vegetables with the dressing and goat cheese, stirring until the cheese is partially melted. Add lettuce, toss and serve. If unable to serve right away, leave the vegetables tossed with the dressing and cheese at room temperature and add the lettuce just before serving.

Serves 6.

New Chatelaine Cookbook,  1992