Yummy stuff to grill

I know this sounds really lame coming from someone who loves to cook, but I went almost two years without a grill. And this sounds extra lame, but one of the reasons I went so long without a grill is that grills scare me a little. I've always viewed them as sort of a "man thing." Perhaps it's the open flame, the big chunks of meat, or the endless commercials featuring men holding court over their grills, opening a new set of tongs for father's day, or donning a cheesy apron that says "Grill on grill action."

Anyway, I decided that if I'm going to call myself a decent cook, I had to get over my grill issues. So, a short trip to Home Depot and a few hundred bucks later, we became the proud owners of a new grill. It's nothing fancy--just a regular old gas grill.
But this time, I refuse to shy away from it.

So here are three recipes I've made on the grill over the last few months. They are all awesome and highly recommended by me and the people I've fed. One thing that all of these recipes have in common is big, bold flavor. I know that the act of grilling itself imparts a delicious charcoal flavor to food, but if you're a fan of slightly spicy, power-packed flavors, these recipes are for you.

1) Chile-Rubbed Grilled Chicken with Salsa

A lot of grill aficionados say to avoid grilling boneless, skinless chicken breast, as it can be dry and rubbery. I made this recipe three times, and not once was it dry or rubbery. The key is to use the freshest, highest quality chicken you can find, and to be careful not to overcook it.

*A note: When I first made this dish, I didn't read carefully and I ended up using all 4 teaspoons of lime juice in the rub (you were supposed to use 1 tsp and save the rest for the salsa...whoops). BUT, it turned out awesome! It made the rub a little more moist and kind of paste-like, so it adhered to the chicken better. Consequently, I recommend making the same mistake I did. I also OD'ed a little bit on the chipotle powder, which I also recommend if you like things spicy.

2) Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Corn on the Cob (aka Grilled Pork Tenderloin with "Vomit Sauce")

Yes, I am aware that including the word "vomit" in a recipe is really disgusting and probably the least appetizing thing one can do. But what can I say? It was a nickname that stuck. Here's the thing...the sauce that accompanies the pork in this recipe (which includes apple cider vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes) smells really terrible while it's cooking. It really does smell like, well, vomit. It got so bad that my husband made me set the pot outside until it was time to eat.

But when you serve it alongside the spice-crusted pork? Pure deliciousness! I did tweak it a bit though. When I followed the recipe for the sauce exactly, it was a little too vinegary. So I added some more sweetness (a little extra brown sugar, as well as some maple syrup), and a little more heat (some hot sauce).

Oh, and I didn't make the corn part of the recipe, so I can't vouch for that. But the pork and sauce was definitely a keeper. I just hope my kids don't go to school and tell their teacher they have vomit sauce for dinner sometimes.

3) Chipotle-Mango Barbecue Chicken with Cilantro Chimichurri

This dish is definitely a labor of love. It requires peeling mangos (which I find to be a huge pain) and using a food processor or blender two separate times--once for the chipotle-mango sauce and once for the chimichurri. Therefore, I recommend making this for a special occasion or weekend BBQ, not a Tuesday night dinner. The leftovers heat up well, though, so you could make a bunch and have it twice in one week.

Also, although I didn't do it myself, I am sure either or both sauces would be excellent used in a different dish - perhaps with shrimp or another seafood.

Best crock pot recipe ever (brined pork chops)

It's been a while since I've made a blog-worthy meal, and it's also been a while since I've made anything worth mentioning in a crock pot. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with crock pot meals. Obviously the idea of throwing a bunch of stuff into a pot in the morning, and having a delicious meal all ready and waiting at dinner time is a wonderful one... But usually all of the crock pot recipes I make turn out to be riffs on mushy meat stew in some sort of a tomato-based sauce.

I was excited when I saw this recipe for Alton Brown's slow cooked pork chops featured as the "Recipe of the Day" on the Food Network website. For one, I'd been making so much chicken lately that my whole family was really chickening out (Sorry, I heart cheesy puns). Secondly, it was something unique, unlike typical crock pot fare.

This recipe was super flavorful, and really tender. Pork chops can tend to be dry and flavorless, and these were just the opposite.

I do have to warn you, this dish is pretty labor intensive, as crock pot dishes go. First you have to brine the pork chops overnight (not a big deal, but it takes some advance planning). Secondly, you have to spend probably 30-45 minutes the next morning browning the pork chops before they go into the crock pot. So if you're looking for something where you can just dump some stuff into the crock pot and turn it on, this recipe isn't for you. But if you're looking to make a delicious, guest-worthy meal that you can prepare well ahead of dinner time, then you need to try this.

Note: Make sure you buy fairly thick, bone-in pork chops for this dish. And go ahead and make more than you think you'll need...the leftovers are fabulous too.

Another note: Some of the reviews on the Food Network website mention that the dish is too salty/peppery, but I disagree. I made it exactly as directed and thought the flavor was spot-on. Then again, I do love me some salt. If you're not a big salt fan, you can tone it down by using water or some wine in place of the chicken broth at the end.

Slow Cooker Pepper Pork Chops (from Alton Brown via www.foodnetwork.com)

Ingredients:

2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tbsp black peppercorns, slightly crushed
1 lb ice
4 , 1 to 1 1/2 inch thick pork chops, bone in
2 tsp kosher salt
3 oz dried apple slices
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, julienned
1 1/2 cups chicken broth (and perhaps a smidge of white wine)
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tsp dried thyme

Directions:

Combine the broth, salt, brown sugar, and peppercorns in a medium sauce pan over medium high heat. Cook until the salt and sugar dissolve, and remove from heat and add the ice. Place the pork chops into a large ziplock bag and pour the mixture inside. Seal and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning...remove the chops from the brine, rinse and pat dry. Season on both sides with kosher salt and set aside.

Place the apples in the slow cooker. Heat 1 1/2 tsp of the olive oil in a large saute pan. Over medium high heat, sear both sides of the pork chops until golden brown, about 5-6 minutes per side. Once browned, put the chops into the crock pot atop the apples.

Add the remaining olive oil to the pan and saute the onions until soft and beginning to brown. Add the chicken broth to the pan to deglaze. (I used a little bit of white wine to deglaze, and then added the chicken broth). Add the black pepper and thyme. Transfer to the slow cooker. Set to high for 1 1/2 hours, and then turn to low. Continue cooking another 4-5 hours or until the pork is tender and falling away from the bone.

*If you're not going to be home to turn down the crock pot, just set it to low the whole time.

These chops would go great with just about any side dish you can think of. The sauce would be great to soak up with some rice, roasted potatoes, cauliflower, etc.

Herb-marinated pork tenderloin

December was a month filled with many fun things, but exciting, nutritious new recipes were not among those things. Due to the chaos of the holidays, a lot of convenient, no-frills meals were consumed at my house. Now that it's a new year, I'm eager to restock my fridge with fresh foods and get back into the kitchen.

My Christmas day meal was quite delish, but last night I made a pork tenderloin that I believe trumped my Christmas version, and was a lot less difficult. It was a completely last-minute meal--I had learned less than 24 hours earlier that my good friend Jessica would be coming into town for one night on a business trip, and I wanted to make us a great dinner. Without time to get to the store, I had to make due with what I had on hand.

Luckily, I had purchased a nice piece of pork tenderloin at Whole Foods on Sunday for no real reason other than that it looked pretty in the display case. But what to do with it? A quick search of pork tenderloin recipes on the Food Network website turned up a winner by Ina Garten (click here for the recipe). Not only was it rated 5 stars, but it used ingredients that I happened to have on hand. It helps that I have a lemon tree and a rosemary bush in my backyard!

I plucked six juicy, ripe lemons from the tree, pulled off a couple stems of rosemary, and got to work creating the marinade. I only had the chance to marinate the pork for a little over two hours instead of the recommended three, but it was so flavorful I can't imagine that an extra hour would have made a difference.

I served the pork alongside some corn (from the freezer), a spinach salad with pears and gorgonzola (the same one I made at Christmas, minus the pomegranate seeds), and some crusty whole wheat rolls (Alexia's frozen rolls, which are great to have on hand). The meat was super-moist, and SUPER-flavorful. I always find it so hard to make meats that are truly infused with flavor from the inside out, but this recipe was a home run.

I do think there were several contributing factors to why it was so good: 1) high quality meat, and 2) freshly picked and perfectly ripe lemons & rosemary). But I bet that even regular old pork chops and dried rosemary would taste great in this marinade. I'm sure I will be trying it out in several different incarnations over the years--especially since my girls even gobbled up this meat, and getting them to eat meat is one of my biggest challenges in life.

Now, to further inspire me in 2011, I am headed to a knife skills course at Sur La Table. Hopefully I won't maim anyone or chop off one of my fingers.