It’s been a long time coming, but I’ve upgraded from a free wordpress.com account to a full-blown blog. You can now find all my recipes and future posts at turoklikefood.com. You wouldn’t want to miss out, now would you?
Stay tuned to the new blog for further updates and good recipes! Meanwhile, slobber over some of the most popular posts, now on turoklikefood.com.
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Poke (pronounced pokay) is a type of raw fish salad from Hawaii. It’s sort of comparable to ceviche of Latin America. I think it’s better, though!
Make sure the fish is sushi (or sashimi) quality. Just for your own sake. It’ll be worth the price you pay.
Adapted from Weber’s Way to Grill, page 210.
Ingredients:
Directions:
This one’s really easy. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. To serve, spoon some of the poke salad into a 4 bowls, and top with sesame seeds.
Serves 4 as an appetizer.
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Lately, I’ve been making lots of Mexican/South American food. Beef lomo saltado is some kind of Peruvian/Asian fusion, and I don’t want to perpetuate myths about the origin, but let’s just say there’s soy sauce involved. And stir-frying. In the end, it turns out tasty, just like you would expect.
Ingredients:
Directions:
In a large (cast iron) skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat until the oil is very hot. Fry the potatoes in the oil for about 15 minutes until golden brown and no longer mushy on the inside. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.
Meanwhile, transfer a few spoonfuls of oil from the frying pan to another large skillet. Brown the meat over medium heat (it should take about 5 minutes, maybe a little longer). Be sure to not overcook. Transfer the meat to a bowl.
Add the onions and chile peppers to the pan. Cook, stirring regularly, for about 5 minutes, or until the onions begin to turn brown on the edges and soften. Add the tomato slices, parsley, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and warm. Return the beef to the pan. Toss to combine the flavors; adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
Serve the stir fry over rice and french fries, garnished with chopped parsley, topping with some aji verde sauce, if desired.
Makes enough for 4.
It’s the best carnitas I’ve ever had. Ever. Period.
This is Roberto Santibañez’s recipe, from epicurious. So flavorful. I still can’t get over it.
(I didn’t alter the recipe in the least, so that’s why I’m not listing ingredients and directions. Check out the link for that.)
It’s summer. You’re grilling some dinner on your patio/backyard/balcony and you want to make a complete meal using the grill. Make this one. Prep time: less than 5 minutes.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Preheat the grill to medium heat, but this is a given because I’m assuming you’re already grilling an entreé.
Rip off a large sheet of aluminum foil from the roll. Rinse the potatoes under cold water to scrub off any dirt or grime. Place them on the sheet of foil. Top with garlic, douse with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and herbs. Fold the foil over the potatoes and wrap tightly, securing with another sheet of foil.
Place this potato-foil package directly on the grill for about 25-30 minutes. Flip it over halfway through cooking. Test to see if it’s done by opening the foil and stabbing a potato with a fork. If it yields easily to the fork, it’s done. If not, close it up and cook for longer.
Serves 2-3 as a side.
I’m writing this post to continue with the summer theme.
Adapted from treehugger.com.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Preheat a grill to high heat. Honestly, this step will take the longest. It’s so easy.
Place the watermelon on the preheated grill and close the lid. Cook for 3 minutes; there should be grill marks on the flesh of the melon. Remove the melon slices from the heat and assemble the salads, one slice per plate.
Top each slice with a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and a tablespoon of olive oil. Arrange the sliced tomatoes on the plate in whatever fashion you prefer. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with fresh basil leaves. Grate some Parmesan or Asiago, or whatever hard cheese you prefer on top to finish it off.
Serves 4, as an appetizer/salad.
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Tomatoes, basil, and grilling. Summertime.
Chicken involtini is the grilling equivalent of stuffed chicken breasts. It’s a chicken breast, flattened, stuffed with cheese and herbs, then grilled to perfection, and served over tomato sauce.
From page 135, Weber’s Way To Grill.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Preheat a grill to medium heat.
Take each chicken breast half and flatten, according to your preferred method. Or, take each piece of chicken and place it on about a foot of plastic wrap. Fold it over the chicken, leaving a few inches slack so the chicken can flatten out. Pound the chicken with a tenderizer (a wooden mallet), or a heavy skillet. The chicken should be 1/4 inch thick and have a large surface area.
Season each piece of chicken with salt and freshly-ground black pepper on each side. Lay a piece of prosciutto over each piece of chicken. Top it with with the provolone and a few basil leaves. Roll the chicken up and tie two pieces of butcher’s twine around the egg roll-shaped chicken. Do this with the remaining pieces of chicken.
Grill for 12 minutes, turning a quarter turn, every three minutes. Meanwhile, heat up the tomato sauce.
To serve, spread some tomato sauce on a plate, slice the rolled-up chicken in half and place it on top of the tomato sauce. Top with thinly-sliced basil leaves.
Serves 4.
My recipes generally follow trends. Recently, it’s been grilling, and more specifically, with cedar planks. The plank will smoke significantly during grilling, imparting the scallops (or whatever happens to be on the grill) with a wonderful smoky flavor. It’s awesome.
This recipe is closely adapted from Weber’s Way to Grill, page 180.
Ingredients:
Marinade:
Scallops:
Equipment:
Directions:
At least an hour before grilling, soak the cedar planks in water.
Whisk together the marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Rinse the scallops under cold water and then plunge them into the marinade. Let them marinate while you preheat the grill to medium-high direct heat. Place the cedar planks on the grill without scallops for about 5 minutes, until they begin to smoke.
Place the scallops on the planks, close the grill lid, and cook for 8 minutes. The scallops will turn slightly smoky brown on the tops, near opaquness in the center, and be mostly firm to the touch. Grate (I used chunks of cheese instead) the Asiago cheese over the top and cook for about a minute more, until the cheese has warmed through. Sprinkle black pepper over the top.
Remove the planks from the grill. Transfer the scallops to plates.
Serves 4.
…served with grilled, caramelized fennel.
Salmon for 3 of the last 4 posts. As it should be during the summer.
I’ve always wanted to grill salmon on a cedar plank. Apparently, wonderful things happen when you get that smoky flavor of the cedar. I decided to try it out myself. There’s not much additional work compared to grilling salmon without a cedar plank.
You can use any marinade or seasoning you want, but I particularly like the brown sugar prescribed by this recipe.
Ingredients:
Equipment:
Directions:
Soak the cedar planks in water (or beer or wine) for at least 1 hour before grilling. Rinse the salmon under cool water.
Now there are two ways to proceed. You can either leave the fillet in one whole piece, but slice the flesh down to the skit, leaving the skin intact. Do this one or two times to cut into pieces (as in the picture). You’ll only need one cedar plank if you choose to do it this way. Alternatively, you can slice the fish, once or twice, all the way through. You may need two planks if you choose this method, because you want the whole fish to be completely on the plank. Once you’ve cut the fish, marinate it with the soy sauce and rice vinegar for about a half hour.
Ten minutes before cooking, preheat the grill to medium, direct heat. When you’re ready to grill, remove the cedar plank from the water. Put the salmon on the plank(s). Place the plank directly on the grates of the grill. Sprinkle the brown sugar on the top of the salmon; it will melt and cause some good caramelization. Cook for 15-20 minutes, to the desired degree of doneness. You may need to spray the planks with some water to prevent flareups.
Serves 2. This recipe is easily scalable; plan for 1/2 pound fish per person.
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Salmon has plenty of flavor, especially if you buy the fresh, wild variety (which you should). This curry, taken from pages 246-247 of 660 Curries, is mild enough to let the salmon flavor shine through, but adds enough creaminess and heat to create a dish like no other. I think it might be one of my favorites.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Rinse the salmon and cut into two pieces. Rub the salt and turmeric into the flesh of one side of the salmon and refrigerate for at least a half hour, maximum of overnight.
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and salmon, seasoned side down. Sear for 2-3 minutes. If you’re using a skinless fillet, turn it over and repeat the sear on the other side. If not, sear for closer to 4 minutes.
Add the black pepper and the chilies and cook for about 30 seconds. Pour in the coconut milk and watch it turn from white to a satisfying yellow, absorbing all the flavor. Mix the sauce well; baste the fillets with the sauce until they begin to flake, 3-5 minutes more. Remove from heat. Place a fillet on each plate and pour the sauce over the fish.
Serves 2.
