Island grilled mangoes and papaya with a rum butter sauce, Exotic grilled pear salad with goat cheese and balsalmic drizzle…These menu items can be found in high end eateries all of over the world! They sound ultra sexy and complicated, right? They are not! These delicious tastes can easily be replicated at home in your kitchen!!
Restaurant taste at home!
Fruit is made up of sugars and water. Grilling fruit takes out some of the water and caramelizes the natural sugars leaving delicious sweet fruit with a charred texture. This method is quick and easy, and the delicious grilled fruit leaves our taste buds craving more!
Hard fruits are easier to grill. They won’t get mushy and fall apart on you. My favorites are apples, pears and pineapple!
Grill fruit as an appetizer, side, salad topper or skewer it with veggies, meat or fish!
One of our breakfast favorites is grilled peaches! (With a squirt of whipped cream!)
Grilled Peaches
Ingredients:
(Yields 4 servings)
4 Sliced white and yellow peaches
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp.cinnamon
1 tbsp. nutmeg
Directions:
Clean grill grate and spray with non stick cooking spray. (Olive oil is too strong for these fruits and will leave a dull taste. If anything use a little butter.)
Dust fruit with the spice mix.
Because the peaches are juicy, they caramelize quickly! Don’t leave them on too long!
Grill the fruit on medium heat until it is softened to your liking.(Pierce with a fork. The fruit should be cooked but still firm.) Approx. 4 minutes per side.
OR grill them in a frying pan! Peaches are soft enough to be cooked quickly right on the stove!
A breakfast treat! Hold the pastries!
Don’t forget a fabulous cheese pairing! Grilled pears are delicious with goat cheese or a creamy fontina, while grilled apples are most delicious when served with Gruyere or Brie.
Brussels sprouts are healthy, easy to prepare, and pair well with so many foods! Here is a delicious, super easy recipe the whole family will enjoy!
I started with the roasted sprouts and ended up with a fabulous pasta dish!
Roasted Garlic Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients:
1-1/2 lbs. brussels sprouts, halved
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2 tbsp. cumin
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 lemon, squeezed for juice
Fresh grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat.
Add pressed garlic and cook for a few minutes.
Add cumin and brown sugar.
Brussels sprouts are one of the world’s healthiest foods! Fiber containing, cancer fighting, cholesterol lowering, vitamin filled…Visit http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=10 to learn more about their health benefits!!
Place brussels sprouts on foil lined cookie sheet.
Pour frying pan mixture over brussels sprouts.
Squeeze lemon and sprinkle with salt and pepper .
Cook for 16-20 minutes, until softened but firm. (Test by piercing with a fork.)
I think these would be fabulous on the grill!
I had 8 more ripe Roma tomatoes, so I made a pound of pasta and tossed it with the chopped tomatoes, the brussels sprouts, and 2 tbsp. olive oil!
Of course, always top with fresh grated Parmesan! Enjoy!
What an easy dinner! The sprouts have almost a candy coating!
Hola! We have just returned home from Riviera Maya, Mexico’s Ocean Coral and Turquesa H10 Resort and Spa in Puerto Morelos! Wow!
Just breathtakingly beautiful!
What an awesome trip! Great company, fabulous weather, and amazing authentic food!! Don’t let anyone tell you not to travel to Mexico because it is unsafe, you will get sick, or the food is bland. All not true, IF you spring for a great resort!
Kevin and I vacationed in Mexico 10 years ago and we were in the bathroom the ENTIRE trip, but we paid $600 each for the whole week all- inclusive with flights. Oops! We learned a valuable lesson on that trip and we laugh about it now!
One afternoon I had the pleasure of assisting the chefs who were making authentic Mexican guacamole! Here is the recipe!
Mexican Guacamole
Makes 12 servings
Ingredients:
6 Avocados- called aguacate in Mexico
3 Lemons, limon
4 Tomatoes, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small Chile habanero- pepper
1 cup chopped Cilantro
1 cup pico de gallo
1/4 cup beer, Cervesa in Mexico
Salt and pepper- to taste
Directions:
Scoop out avocado and add to a large mixing bowl by cutting in half and pitting.
(Save avocado skins and pits.)
This was a first for me! I had never chopped, diced, scooped and mixed in a bikini before!
Add chopped tomatoes, onions, and cilantro.
Add pico de gallo.
Squeeze the lemons halved into bowl.
Mix well, smashing and smushing avocado.
The chefs told me to mix with my “flavor” which meant “get your back into it!” Use those hips!
Add pico de gallo.
Add finely chopped chile or habanero pepper.
(Shave some lemon flesh from a squeezed lemon onto chopped pepper to mute the heat.)
Mix well.
Add beer and salt and pepper a few splashes/pinches at a time to taste.(The chef’s “perfect consistency” was a bit runnier than I am used to. The addition of the beer maybe?)
Chef Marion says the mixing is the key. Reminds me of making homemade italian sausage. You can follow the recipe, but if it isn’t mixed well, forget about it.
Mexican Guacamole Secrets Shhhhh…
1. Keep the pit and leave it in the bowl. It keeps the avocado from browning.
2. Keep the avocado shell/skins to use as cute serving pieces. They are the perfect size for guests to fill with chips or a scoop of guacamole!
3. Mexican chefs keep gum readily available to chew while chopping onions. No tears!
4. In Mexico, their limons are our lemons. Small but green and sweeter. Mexican limes are much bigger and more tart. The chefs I worked with only used the small ones for the guacamole, equivalent to American lemons.
5. Mexican chefs? sip tequila on the rocks not in drinks. (Not sure what this had to do with making guacamole, I forget.)
The number 13 is lucky in Italy! And Italians believe Friday the 13th is a great day to begin something new and try your luck! Perhaps the perfect day for gambling or even starting a new business venture!
In North America, we try to ward off the evil spirits associated with the spooky, bad luck driven day. A best bet food to eat… Rosemary! Eat foods cooked with Rosemary for good luck! The plant’s powers are even stronger if the plant is a gift!
My plant is thriving! And it was a gift! Extra lucky?Pinch the top rosemary leaves and pull down, stripping the stem. A rosemary stem can be a flavorful skewer! Slide shrimp onto the tough stem and grill!
Although Italy is a predominantly Roman Catholic country, it’s superstitions run deep and through generations! Here are a few:
Never toast with water. (duh)
Never pour wine with your left hand.
Never keep peacock feathers in your home- the devil’s watchful eye. (Evil eye superstitions are huge in Italy, called Malocchio)
Never set shoes on a bed or counter.
Good luck today! If you still aren’t buying it, cook with rosemary!
I love smoothies and muffins for breakfast! Add in superfoods, fruits, and grains, and you will have energy for the day! We love to try different flavor combinations! This morning we tried blueberry and orange…it is delicious!
Chocolate chip banana is also a favorite! Search for the recipe on Parmesan Princess website!
My basic muffin recipe came from Bethenny Frankel’s Skinny Muffins and it has morphed from there! Enjoy these! Try different flavors and let me know how they turn out!
Ingredients:
1-1/4 cups oat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup mini clementine slices
1/4 cup chia seeds
The refreshing, citrus burst of orange adds a morning kick to a traditional blueberry muffin!
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Spray muffin tin with Pam or line with baking cups.
Mix dry ingredients.
Add wet ingredients, adding fruit last.
Mix well so that each muffin gets a taste of every ingredient!
Pour batter in muffin tins 3/4 full.
I can’t stand muffin papers! So I spray tins with Pam!
Bake 15 mins, rotating muffin pan half way or until golden. Poke the muffin with a toothpick to test. Toothpick should be clean!
Beemster Graskaas, sounds like someone needs their mouth washed out with soap!! Beemster is actually a Dutch cheese company and Graskaas is Dutch for “grass cheese!” This seasonal, super creamy cheese is created every Spring after the Beemster cows leave their barn and feed on the fresh, Spring grass. Only their first milk is used to make Graskaas!
The village of Beemster is the only co-op left in Holland in which cheese curds are stirred and raked by hand! The CONO cheesemakers co-op has been making delicious cheese since 1901!
Only 2,000 wheels of Graskaas are produced in Beemster, Holland, and only 1,000 are shipped to the US! So it must be really expensive, right? Nope! Your average $13.99/lb! Less than my Parrano for sure!
How did I find this cheese? I was having a dinner party and searching for something new! Carol, the Pittsburgh legend Dear Heart of Pennsylvania Macaroni Co. in Pittsburgh’s Strip District, had me taste it and told me the Graskaas story! I enjoyed telling the story and having everyone sample the cheese!
A seasonal treat, Beemster’s Graskaas is sold mid-May until it’s gone!
Get your Graskaas today!
Graskaas and Date Salad Recipe!
Click link for the recipe!
http://www.pennmac.com/items/4471//beemster-graskaas-cheese-holland
Our guests enjoyed the cheese and the story!
Graskaas has a very mild and creamy flavor. Aged for only one month before being sold, it is the opposite of my usual pungent hard cheese taste. I give my new soft cheeses the Grilled Cheese Test! And Beemster’s Graskaas got an A+ for meltability and creaminess!
Pepper Perfection! My favorite pepper creation so far! Try this recipe!
Packed with superfood quinoa and vitamins and minerals, these stuffed peppers maximize on taste and are super healthy! The kids love to eat out of the pepper bowl and then eat the pepper! So cute! Roasted Quinoa and Veggie Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients:
6 bell peppers, any color!
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
6 basil leaves, chopped
5 Yelo tomatoes
I chose these at the produce market because the package states “youth, energy, life” Yep, they got me at youth!
Ingredients (cont.) 1 handful of spinach
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a small saucepan, add 1 cup of uncooked quinoa and 2 cups of water on medium heat with a lid. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and cover. Let stand 15 minutes The quinoa will absorb the water.
Quinoa recipe- 1 cup uncooked quinoa and 2 cups water!
Wash, cut the tops off of the peppers and clean out the seeds and white insides.
Place the hollowed peppers upside down on a Pam coated cookie sheet and roast for 25-30 mins or until peppers are softened and browning.
The peppers will soften but at the same time brown, if that makes sense. Here is the “look .” If you overcook they will turn to mush and be impossible to stuff. Error on less time if you are worried.
Meanwhile, in a frying pan heat the olive oil low to medium heat and add garlic and onions.
When the onions start to become transparent, add the quinoa and sunflower seeds.
The seeds and quinoa get a nice toasted , nutty taste.
Turn up the heat and toast the quinoa and seeds a bit, while constantly stirring.
Add tomatoes, basil and spinach and mix well.
Mix mozzarella and parmesan together to create a cheese mixture.
Fill the peppers with layers of the quinoa mixture and cheese mixture. Ending with quinoa mixture on top.
Fill them up! Don’t be shy!
Bake for another 5-8 minutes.
Toasted roasted perfection! So many beautiful textures and colors!Always top with fresh grated Parmesan cheese! Enjoy!!
Coffee causes cancer. Milk causes cancer. Microwave popcorn causes cancer. Pop causes cancer. Processed meats cause cancer.
We hear these health news alerts and we try to be more cognizant about what we put in our mouths. We grill our meat instead of frying it and eat more fruits and veggies. Now we hear that grilling meat causes cancer? What? I thought grilling was healthy?!
Grilled chicken and a nutritious vegetable side! Could it really be unhealthy? Chicken and fish are currently ruled “safer” than red meats.
This topic is extremely controversial, even among accredited researchers!
The one conclusion they agree upon is that cooking fleshy meat at high temperatures changes its DNA and the created “heterocyclic aromatic compounds” (HCAs) have been shown to be carcinogenic. The compounds have proven to be cancer causing in animal testing.
Another dangerous side effect caused by grilling meats is the creation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or (PAHs). These carcinogenic gasses are created from fat drippings that burn on the grill. The smoke created is absorbed by the food and we consume it.
Both end products caused cancer in animals experimentally. So the question remains, How much would we need to consume to produce the same results? Nobody really knows.
No definitive answers from scientists, yet.
Shannon Riskey, RN, MSN, at Pittsburgh’s Hillman Cancer Center tells her patients, “Everything that enters our bodies, or we put on our skin, has the potential to ‘mix up’ our DNA, which then causes cells to regenerate in an abnormal way. Basically, how cancer occurs.”
So yes, in a way everything does have the potential to cause cancer. Shannon explained that “moderation is key” and “who wouldn’t want to eat grilled meats?” Love her, it’s so true!
Dr. Jamie Uribarri, Mt. Sinai New York nephrologist and heterocyclic aromatic compounds (HCAs)research leader , tells me the dangers don’t merely lie in grilling, but in cooking meats at high temperatures. His research highlights advanced glycation end products and the link between heating meats and chronic disease.
I had to ask him the question, “Is it the amount of meat people are eating or the cooking process?” Nobody really knows! I’m not shocked!
What do scientists know?
1. Marinate the meat!
Studies show that marinating and rubbing the meat in wine, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice or rosemary can lower its pH and lower the risk of and HCA and PAH development.
Roasted garlic, basil and rosemary marinade!
2. Eat antioxidant rich fruits and veggies!
Researchers believe that eating foods rich in antioxidants may offset the dangers of grilling carcinogens.
Blueberries are high in antioxidants!
3. Cover the grill with aluminum foil to avoid charring the meat or scrape off the char before eating. Isn’t that the most delicious part?
4. Pre-cook meat so that it is not exposed to high heat for extended periods of time. Boiled burger, anyone?
Another option is to grill on lower heat for a longer period of time.
5. Avoid grilling processed meats. Higher levels of carcinogens were found in hotdogs and sausage.
Grilled homemade sausage served with peppers and onions is one of our favorites! Grilled sausage creates more carcinogens? How much more? Is it dangerous? Nobody knows for sure!
Everything in moderation! That includes grilled meats! Remember, the dangerous levels of HCAs and PAHs are possibly, maybe, could be, might be too small to make a difference. So don’t go nuts just in case!
It is hard to get back into the swing of life after a long holiday weekend! Do you have leftover hamburgers, pulled beef or pork, or maybe some grilled chicken or shrimp?
I have a quick, easy dinner recipe for you!! Dinner in less than one hour!
Get rid of the lingering leftovers and be on top of dinner!!
Cookout Leftovers Taco Soup
Ingredients:
2-3 cups of leftover beef, pork, shrimp
1 35 oz. can whole, crushed, or chopped tomatoes
1 15.5 oz. can black beans
1 16 oz. bag frozen corn
4 cups water
1/4 cup taco seasoning (Note: you can sub chili powder if you are out of taco seasoning!)
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: If you have an onion and/or a pepper you can chop and throw them in. Not necessary!
Directions:
Shred, chop or dice your leftover meat or fish.
Add all ingredients to a stock pot on medium heat and stir.
Cook until hot!
Serve with a dollop of sour cream and shredded cheese. Maybe even some leftover tortilla chips!!
I am always looking for healthy, delicious, easy snacks for my family! Lots of chia seeds, kale, Greek yogurt, sweet potatoes…Anything that is really healthy and tastes great! We are not into the hold-your-nose-and-drink bitter green juices!!
Throw in the chia when baking anything!! Chia seeds are tasteless and have enormous health benefits!
Here is a great healthy snack recipe! Definitely not a chewy gooey, rich chocolate chip cookie recipe. Kid and mommy approved! Packed with chia seeds, fiber and a bonus, they are gluten free!
Just can’t get enough!
Super Chocolate Chip Snack Cookies
Recipe makes 24
Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups oat flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup chocolate chips
2 tbsp. chia seeds
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup Almond milk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix all dry ingredients, except chocolate chips, in a mixing bowl.
Add Greek yogurt and mix well.
Add Almond milk little by little and mix thoroughly with each addition until a dough forms.
Make sure the dough is forming, but that it is not too sticky or wet! If so, it can easily be fixed! Add some more flour, a little bit at a time, until the dough loses its shine.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Scoop tablespoon-sized scoops onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
Space them about 1-2inches apart!
Bake for 12 mins.turning cookie sheet at 6 mins. for even baking.
