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Grilling Marinades

June 23, 2011 in Food by traveleatlove | 10 comments

Ahhh summer. Time for simpler meals cooked and eaten outdoors with friends and family, lingering into the later evening hours to enjoy that extra daylight. It’s also a time for prep-ahead less fuss meals, which makes meat and veggies, marinated overnight, some of my favorites for summer cooking.

Chicken marinated in a mix of yogurt and some sort of herb or spice blend is a favorite. Yogurt makes the chicken super moist and flavorful.

One of our dinners last week was just that, chicken breasts marinated overnight in a mix of Fage 0%, the only Greek yogurt I use these days, and salt-free dill seasoning.

Because I marinated it for over 24 hours, the chicken was super tender and absorbed a lot of the dill flavor. I didn’t grill, was too last to clean the grill pan. Instead, I cooked it in a frying pan and topped with thawed butternut squash at the end. It was a random combination, but I wanted something healthy, and it worked.

Here are a few other great ideas for marinating meat or veggies this summer!

Chicken:

Plain old Italian dressing! It can easily liven up the most boring chicken.

Lime and cilantro: It’s fat free and helps to tenderize the meat. Just don’t put it on too early. Citrus can “cook” proteins (as in ceviche).

Cider vinegar, brown sugar, and tomato paste: A quick BBQ sauce, use some as a marinade and reserve some for dipping later.

Olive oil and garlic: Another simple one, and a favorite for marinating and grilling strips of fresh summer zucchini and shrimp.

As far as beef goes, you know I don’t make it that often, but below is a marinade recipe that has really been a crowd hit in the past. It makes people think I know what to do with beef.

Whether it’s fish, veggies, chicken, pork, or beef, what is your favorite homemade (or store-bought!) marinade or rub for grilling?

Mouthwatering Steak Tips Marinade

Free range, grass fed steak tips

1 cup Jacob’s Creek Cabernet Sauvignon

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Juice of one whole lemon

4 cloves garlic, minced

pinch of rosemary

liberal sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup brown sugar

marinated steak tips

Tags: cooking, dinner, Food, grilling, recipe, summer

Strawberry Salad with Grilled Scallops

June 7, 2011 in Food, recipe by traveleatlove | 13 comments

Strawberries, scallops, and peppery arugula all taste like summer to me. After a long winter, there is nothing I crave more than strawberries. Well, maybe heirloom tomatoes, but they don’t arrive until later in the summer, and I don’t want to rush things.

Strawberries, plump and red, if you are lucky, juicy enough that they are more than a little messy to eat, are perfect on their own. We all know that they make a happy union with shortcake and cream, and who doesn’t love a strawberry cupcake? I foresee myself making all of the above, but this past weekend, I wanted a strawberry and scallop salad.

Salads are the essence of summer, their simple preparation welcome after a day in the sun. I started this salad by cleaning and slicing strawberries on the beautiful Oxo cutting board I got at Eat, Write, Retreat.

I paused for a second to smell the sweetness of the raw scallops before putting them on a piping hot grill pan. I love how a fresh scallop smells as much as I love the taste. I did my best not to move them around in hopes of getting a golden brown, caramel color on each side.

While I left the scallops alone, I plated fresh arugula, strawberries, and crumbled goat cheese, finally adding the scallops when cooked through. They took no more than six minutes total.