Grilled Sausage over Basil & Honey Ricotta with Pignolis atop Crostini

          Hey there everyone! Been a while, I know. I don’t have many excuses except that it is Holiday time and I had the Flu, Bronchitis and a Sinus Infection last week. Enough said, right!?? I don’t think I have cooked anything in over two weeks…..wimper wimper….

            Thank goodness for Hubby though. He kept me well-rested and well-fed. He did have some help from Livoti’s, our local Italian market, but he still gets all the credit for making many snacks, side dishes and his 4 course Christmas Feast for us. He is a gem, isn’t he?!? Except for when he kicked my booty in Words with Friends each day and refusing to sleep in the same bed as me all week!

Hubby to the Rescue!!!!

Our Little Christmas Feast for Two...with my medicines in background!

 

            But enough about that….here’s to coming back and giving you something new to chew on. I might not be back this week again but I hope I’ll have some time in the next few weeks to share more with you soon. I made this recipe on Thanksgiving and boy, it was a wham bam homerun. The ricotta was good enough just to schmear on some crusty bread, but I figured adding sweet sausage would round it out nicely.  

            And even better for now, it is almost New Year’s Eve and who doesn’t like tasty little bites at the party? So go ahead, I say make this appetizer, sneak a bite yourself, ring in the New Year and oh yeah, make sure you wash your hands! Enjoy!

Grilled Sausage over Basil & Honey Ricotta with Toasted Pignolis atop Crostini

Serves: 10-15 people

OBJ: TCW be able to incorporate her kitchen mixing skills with her Hubby’s grilling skills into 1 crowd-pleasing appetizer

Ingredients:

1, 15 ounce, whole milk ricotta cheese

3 – 4 TBS honey

10-12 fresh basil leaves, thinly shopped

¼ C pignoli nuts, toasted and cooled

S & P: salt and pepper, to taste

1 sweet sausage ring- grilled and sliced into 1 inch pieces

1 bag Crostini -toasted baguette pieces  ( I used Stacy’s brand Garlic & Herb- I found them at Cost Co. )

Procedures:

1. In a large bowl, mix ricotta, honey (start with 3 TBS), basil, nuts and a heavy pinch of S & P. Taste to see if it is sweet enough, if so- great. If not, add additional 1 TBS honey and stir. Cover and refrigerate until about 30 minutes before serving. Take out and let chill come off.

2. Preheat grill and cook sausage on both sides so that is cooked through. Slice while warm.

3. Place ricotta mixture in a medium size serving bowl. On a platter, place baguette pieces and tooth-picked sausage pieces. Place ricotta next to platter and plate up a few to show. Enjoy!

Apricot-Mango & Chipotle BBQ Chicken & Gift Ideas...

           I know, I know…..Gina, what the bejingle are you thinking?!? Grilling in December, grilling the week of 2 snowstorms, and grilling when the last thing I want to do is step outside? I hear you, believe me. As most of you know, I’m the type that is cold in July with chilly fingertips all year through…..so yes, I know this is a silly post.

            But give me one minute of your time (maybe 10 actually) and listen. What I’m really getting at here are gift ideas. Ya know, the tree needs presents in a few weeks and I’m sure there are few people you still have zilch for. For you and for them, here is where you need to go to get them something unique, inexpensive and delicious……HomeGoods or Marshalls. No, not for their cute candles or name-brand sweaters- we all know to get that stuff at the aforementioned spots. But where you can get some nifty presents is way beyond the clothing racks and scented stations….it is in the cooking and baking departments.

            Here is what you do….grab a wicker basket from the "storage" aisle (they usually have a gazillion, poor trees). Head down the cooking aisle with the salsas, jellies, salts, etc. Pick a theme. For example, go Mediterranean and get some imported oil, spices and maybe a nice bag of pasta or couscous. Then, throw a wooden spoon in there and viola- dinner in a box and a perfect present for me. Or maybe, for someone who likes to grill, get them a jar of what I used in this post- a few specialty BBQ sauces, a meat thermometer, and an over-sized spatula. (FYI-best BBQ sauce we've found there is Kozlowski Farms)Or one more idea I’ve done, for the bake-aholic, is filling that basket up with a few flavored sugars, vanilla beans (best place to get them is at HG or Marshalls- best price you’ll find), a whisk and a few mini cake molds.

             So there, great gifts for those who you still can’t seem to pick out the right thing. Of course, they are food-themed but c’mon friends- for one, this is a food blog and for two- I think giving the gift of a quality home-cooked meal is better than anything you could find in a store. Enjoy…

 

 

Apricot-Mango & Chipotle BBQ Chicken

Serves: 2-3

 

OBJ: TCW be able to spice and sweeten up ordinary chicken

Ingredients:

½ C Apricot Mango & Roasted Chipotle Grilling and Dipping Sauce(I used Kozlowski Farms, but any BBQ sauce you like would work)

2-3 large boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 TBS olive oil

S & P: salt and pepper

Procedures:

1. Preheat entire grill on medium-high flame

2. Brush both sides of chicken with oil, then sprinkle decently with S & P

3. Add chicken to hot grill over direct high heat, cook for 5 minutes. Flip, then cook over direct heat for another 5 minutes

4. Place chicken on other side of grill and turn off the flame beneath it. BUT leave the other side on high flame!

5. Use brush to glaze chicken one side at a time. Cook chicken for remaining time on indirect heat- 5 minutes one side, then flip, glaze and cook other side for 5 minutes

6.  Quickly flip once more to caramelize the side you just glazed

** total cooking time should be about 20 minutes, but if you have larger chicken pieces, it may be 6-7 minutes per side (28 minutes total). Always check chicken for doneness- completely white meat, clear juices, and 165 on a meat thermometer**

Marinated & Grilled Flank Steak

           He is at it again, Grill Master Matt (GMM) is continuing on his BBQing journey. For me, this has been one tasty trip so far!

            This week I picked out a cut of meat I wanted to try and found the marinade recipe below via Pinterest. Through doing this, I also learned there is a difference between Flank and Skirt Steak. Yes, I know, you also thought they were the same. They are not:

Flank: sometimes labeled “London Broil”, lean and wide cut, marinating a must

Skirt: long and ultra-thin cut, cooks quickly, marinating optional

            The cooking time difference was crucial for GMM as he was reading the recipe that used Skirt Steak, not what I bought. He attempted to grill it for the recommended 3-4 minutes per side for medium rare and what we were left with was something that I swore could have moo’ed! While he mumbled a few choice words and grabbed his meat thermometer (his new bf), I wrapped up all the sides to keep warm and let him go out and continue to grill and do his thang….

            About 10-15 minutes later, after checking the internal temp of the steak, he was ready to bring it in. Thank goodness because foil can only do so much to keep stuff warm and well, I’m not going to lie, I was kind of  flippin' hungry!

            What a masterpiece he made us. I loved every forkful from the charred ends to the tender middle cuts. The marinade was key here for depth of flavor. The meat itself, although cooked expertly ;), was basic in nature. The intense spice flavor we had was one to remember. The pineapple juice permeated just enough to offer a little sweetness while the red pepper flakes and Worcestershire sauce evened everything out. When you’re making the marinade, you might think the amount of dried basil is ridiculous. I say this because I had to reread the recipe to make sure I wasn’t making Basil Flank Steak! Anywho, the amount was right so no worries my friends.

            I highly recommend this recipe to you. I’d say go with either a Flank or Skirt steak too. Watch your cooking times though and be sure to marinade overnight! In other words, grab your meat thermometer and get whisking tonight! Enjoy…

Marinated Flank Steak

Serves: 4

Slightly adapted from The Chew

OBJ: TCW be able to let Grill Master Matt take over dinner

Ingredients:

1   Flank Steak, 2 lb

1/3 Cup Soy Sauce

1/2 Cup Olive Oil

Juice of 1 Lemon

1/3 Cup Pineapple Juice

2 TBS Worcestershire Sauce

2 tsp Onion Powder

3 TBS dried Basil

1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

2 cloves Garlic, minced

Procedures:

1. Combine everything but the steak in a large bowl using a whisk

2. Add steak and make sure the entire steak is covered. Marinate in refrigerator overnight

3. Preheat grill to medium-high

4. Season the steak generously with salt and fresh ground pepper

5. Grill the steak for 8-10 minutes per side for medium rare/medium. Use a meat thermometer to cook to your desired temperature then remove from grill and let rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing

6. Slice against the grain and enjoy

 

Red Rubbed Chicken

          Mom always knows best. From ironing the back of your shirt first to keeping a tissue up your sleeve, the lady has the tricks. C’mon admit it, you’re Mom has taught you one or two things over the past ____ years. And if you’re lucky enough to have one like mine, then she’s taught you way too many to count and with that, one too many she keeps track of!

            Anyway, the rub below is not my Mom’s recipe. It is however a present from her. Funny, it is not the rub that I am getting to here; it is the vehicle in which she presented it to me that I love. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the rub. I just love the jar with the recipe on top better. Now I not only have a full jar of rub to resort to, but I have the recipe to refill it when need be! So clever, thanks Mom, you rock!

            And now for the chicken……here is the debut of…..Hubby, the Grill Master. Yes, Mr. Matt has taken it upon himself to conquer the open-flame. So far, with this item and the past month’s selections, he’s got me quite impressed. I’m actually not surprised because I have, what you would nicely call, a meticulous fellow to whom I’m married. To him, there’s no such thing as dabbling in a hobby, it is either do it 110% or get a new hobby. Consequently, I really can’t take any credit here for the chicken. All I did was rub it and hand it over to him. Which makes me chuckle because the rub was a gift so obviously I didn’t make that either.

            So basically, here is a recipe that I had nothing to do with besides eat it up. I hope you luck out like I did! Enjoy…

Red Rubbed Chicken

Serves: 2-3

Source: rub recipe: a variation from Dinosaur BBQ 

OBJ: TCW be able to grill skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts

Ingredients:

Red Rub:

½ tsp cayenne powder

½ C paprika

½ C kosher salt

½ C brown sugar

½ C granulated garlic

6 TBS onion powder

¼ C chili powder

1 TBS black pepper

1 tsp cumin

Chicken:

2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts

Procedures:

1. Rinse and pat dry chicken

2. Rub about ¼ C rub into all sides of chicken. Make sure it is rubbed well and generously:

 

3. Place on place and cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate overnight.

4. Preheat grill using 2 zones: one high heat, one low

5. Remove chicken from refrigerator and place breast-side down over high heat for 5-8 minutes

6. Flip and cook breast-side up over high flame for additional 5-8 minutes

7.  Place chicken over low flame breast-side up for 20-30 minutes or until chicken is done and is registering 165 degrees

8. Place on platter, let rest for 5 minutes, and serve

 

Notes:

*Grill Master Matt's tip: invest in a meat thermometer. It saves you the trouble of cutting your meat and checking for doneness, which also drains the meat of flavor. He swears by it. *

 

* Red Rub is quite versatile: use it on chicken wings, spare ribs, pork, etc. In our family, it was first used as the beginning step for Mom's pulled pork sandwiches. Yum! *