Grilled Pizza with Roquefort and Grilled Peaches

I made this a while ago, and have been slow in posting it. Sorry, I didn't write down amounts. I think you can get the idea. Peaches and bleu cheese on pizza? Where ever did I get that idea? Well, I was inspired by this post on A Good Appetite. I love the bleu cheese flavor of the Roquefort playing against the sweetness of the peaches. I wasn't sure if I wanted sage or not. I did a test section on the pizza. I think I liked it, but my sage test section wasn't large enough to really tell for sure. Follow the basic directions for pizza on the grill, then use these toppings

Grilled Pizza with Roquefort and Grilled peaches
INGREDIENTS
Sauce:
pizza sauce

Toppings:
1 peach
onion
green pepper
mushrooms
meat from one grilled chicken thigh

Cheese:
Swiss cheese
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Roquefort

Herbs:
thyme
parsley
chives
sage

Breakfast Pizza on the Grill

Follow the instructions in my post for pizza on the grill. I only used two eggs, but I think there should be more. The original recipe formed a well in the other topping and cracked two eggs on top and cooked them until over easy. I'm scared of uncooked egg whites and I think scrambles sounds better anyway. I had a grill brunch party last year where I served breakfast pizza. I also brought my waffle iron outside and served waffles with grilled fruit. Next time I'll have a friend bring a waffle iron. Two waffle irons would have worked better.

Breakfast Pizza on the Grill

1 dough ball for crust (see pizza on the grill instructions)
pizza sauce
3-4 eggs, scrambled and cooked until 3/4 done
spinach, either fresh or frozen with the water squeezed out
tomatoes, chopped
chopped Canadian bacon or fried bacon, chopped
shredded sharp cheddar cheese, grated or in slices and laid like tiles

Grilled Citrus and Cilantro Spiced Chicken

It seems like I only cook recipes from America's Test Kitchen. I tend to get obsessed with cookbooks (and SciFi) and stick with it for a while.

Early 80's Betty Crocker Cook Book for Kids and Star Wars
Late 80' Frugal Gourmet (I own three of his cookbooks) and Star Trek the Next Generation (I was way too interested in Klingon Politics).
Early 90's Gourmet and Food and Wine Magazines and Twin Peaks (Not SciFi exactly)
Late 90's Laurel's Kitchen and the Moosewood Cookbook and the X Files
Early Millennium Food Network Website, especially Alton Brown and Harry Potter (Technically Fantasy) and Firefly.
Recently Food Blogs and America's Test Kitchen and Lost, Battlestar Galactia, and Heroes

Anyway, here's yet another recipe from America's Test Kitchen. This one comes from The New Best Recipe. Brining chicken or pork keeps it moist (especially important with pork) and flavorful. All about brining. If you have the time, you should brine chicken (and pork) for every recipe (use a salt free rub so it's not too salty). If you don't have the time to brine the chicken for this recipe, simply salt your chicken before you add the spice paste.

Chicken Thighs on a Gas Grill

INGREDIENTS
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
6 T table salt
1 quart water
1 recipe spice paste

1. Trim any overhanging fat and skin from chicken thighs. Dissolve the salt in 1 quart of cold water in a gallon zip to bag. Add the chicken; press out as much air as possible and seal. Refrigerate 1 1/2 hours.
2. Turn all your grill burners to high and close lid to heat for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, clean grill with grill brush and rub grates with oil using tongs and a paper towel. Leave one burner on high and turn the others to medium-low. Meanwhile, rinse chicken and dry with paper towels. Rub with spice paste. Rub the paste under the skin, especially if you plan to discard the skin after cooking. Cook the chicken over burner on high until seared, 1-2 minutes on each side. Then cook chicken, skin side up on cooler part of the grill for 16-20 minutes until temperature reaches 170 degrees.

CITRUS AND CILANTRO SPICE PASTE FOR CHICKEN
Makes enough 1/2 c, enough for 8 thighs or 4 breasts
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp coriander
2 T orange juice
1 T lime juice
1 T olive oil
1 garlic clove, pressed
2 T fresh cilantro, minced

Combine all ingredients. You can also skip the pressing and mincing and puree ingredients in a food processor. Rub paste over brined and dried chicken pieces before grilling. If you skip the brine, salt chicken before adding the paste.

Honey Mustard Chicken

O.K. Ready for the recipe?
1 part honey
1 part mustard
Pretty complicated. Mix equal parts of honey and mustard. You can use Dijon mustard if you want. I used Sandwich Pal brand horseradish mustard. I've used other flavors of sandwich pal mustard to make this too. Whatever you like. You can mix in some fresh dill if you like also. Then season and grill your chicken. Brush on the honey mustard toward the end of the grilling. If you put it on in the beginning the honey will burn. Easy, quick, and good. The honey mustard sauce is also a good dip for pretzels.

Barbecue Chicken (or Pork) Pizza on the Grill

Follow the general instructions for pizza on the grill. I usually use half a leftover chicken breast per pizza. I had left over grilled pork loin so I used that. I used my homemade BBQ sauce too. The cilantro is from my herb garden (It's about to go to seed. That's why it looks like dill and not cilantro.)

Barbecue Chicken (or Pork) Pizza on the Grill
INGREDIENTS
BBQ Sauce (I used my homemade)
Cheese (about 4 oz)- you can use pizza cheese, mozzarella, provolone, jack, pepper jack, or Swiss. I used 1/2 grated Swiss and 1/2 grated pizza cheese. Sliced cheese works really well.
1/2 a grilled chicken breast, cut into pieces (I used grilled pork loin)
Onion, chopped
Green pepper, chopped (I was out)
Cilantro chopped
Chopped parsley and chives (optional)

Pizza on the Grill

If you are the first person on your block to make pizza on the grill you will impress the heck out of your friends and neighbors. Everyone gathers around your grill to see your display of audacity and showmanship. How does this work? Are you sure this will work? Oh, the improbability of it all. Only you will know that it only looks like rocket science. It's actually not that hard. That being said, I have only made this on a Weber grill. The recipe was written for a Weber. The second recipe was written for a Weber charcoal grill. I think charcoal grills are more standardized. So, any charcoal grill should work. Many gas grills, however, have the burners much closer to the grates then Webers. So, I'm not sure exactly how well making a pizza on another gas grill would work, it might be too hot.

You must decide on three or four toppings. If you try to load grilled pizza with everything, it gets soggy and won't work. Sorry, you are going to have to choose.

GRILLED PIZZA DOUGH

Originally all white flour. I substituted some whole wheat flour for the white flour. It takes a little bit more water to make the dough now. I'll measure the water next time I make dough. The amount of water you need for whole wheat dough will vary with humidity and the attitude of particular wheat flour you are using.

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ cups lukewarm water

1 package active dry yeast

3 c unbleached all purpose flour, plus extra as needed

1 c whole wheat flour

¼ tsp salt

2 T olive oil, plus extra for oiling bowl

Place lukewarm water in a large mixing bowl, sprinkle yeast on top and let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes. Combine flours and salt. Add water, 1/2 cup at a time until well incorporated. If very sticky, add extra flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until slightly sticky. Add two tablespoons of oil and mix well until dough feels elastic. Turn the dough onto a well floured surface. Knead, adding extra flour to your work surface as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking, for 10 minutes, or until smooth and easy to work with. Clean and oil the bowl and place the dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until it more than doubles in volume, about 1 hour. Punch dough down and knead on a lightly floured surface for several minutes or until smooth.

Divide dough into four 4 inch balls and proceed with pizza-making instructions. Dough may be made ahead, frozen until needed. Just wrap the dough balls in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag. Thaw at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Roll the dough on a work surface sprinkled with flour or cornmeal. I always use cornmeal for a more rustic texture. I'm also not concerned with roundness. Amorphous blogs are good enough in my book. Looks more hand made that way.

1. Brush one side of the pizza dough with olive oil. I crush a few cloves of garlic through the garlic press. I add the garlic to the oil before brushing the dough.

2. Pick up the dough by two edges like a wet T-shirt and gently place on grill, oiled side down. The dough won’t fall through the grates. But it really does seems like it will. Brush the top of the pizza with oil.

3. Cook dough over Direct heat for 2-4 minutes, or until bottom side is well marked and as brown as a medium slice of toast. If dough bubbles, poke it with a tongs or whack with a spatula (my method) to release air and flatten crust. Make sure your grill is not too hot or it will burn immediately.

4. When bottom is brown, flip dough over.

5. Immediately cover cooked side with toppings and cheese, move to indirect heat, close lid and cook for 5-10 minutes, or until bottom is browned , cheese is melted and toppings are warmed through. Choosing fewer toppings is better. Lots of toppings will make your pizza soggy. I know you want some of everything. But, you must pick and choose.

Pizza on a charcoal grill

1. Ignite 6 quarts (one large chimney) hardwood charcoal or briquettes in the chimney starter and burn until fully ignited, 15 to 20 minutes. Empty coals into grill and spread into even layer over three-quarters of the grill, leaving one quadrant free of coals. Position cooking grate over coals and heat until grill is medium hot, about 5 minutes (you can hold your hand 5 inches above grill grate for 4 seconds); scrape grate clean with grill brush.

2. Pick up the dough by two edges like a wet T-shirt and gently place onto the hot side of the grill. Immediately repeat with another dough round. Cook until tops are covered with bubbles (pierce larger bubbles with paring knife) and bottoms are grill marked and charred in spots, 1 to 2 minutes; while dough rounds cook, check undersides and slide to cool area of grill if browning too quickly. Transfer crusts to cutting board browned sides up. Repeat with 2 remaining dough rounds.

3. Add pizza toppings. Return pizzas to the grill and cover grill with lid; cook until bottoms are well browned and cheese is melted, 2 to 4 minutes, checking bottoms frequently to prevent burning. Transfer pizzas to cutting board; repeat with remaining 2 crusts. Sprinkle pizzas with basil and coarse salt to taste; cut into wedges and serve immediately.

See also my post on Barbecued Chicken (or pork) pizza on the grill.

Grilled Fruit on Waffles

I grilled fruit the other day for waffles. The picture is actually the second day (because I forgot to take pictures the first day), so the colors of the fruit are a bit muted. I grilled peaches, plums, bananas, and pineapple. I whipped cream the night before and drained it. Click here to find out how. It lasted several days. I grilled the drained, canned pineapple tidbits in a grill pan. These were surprisingly good on the waffles. I sliced the peaches and plums in half and removed the pits. I grilled them cut side up and then finished them cut side down. I didn't time anything, but I have a cookbook that says peaches take 8-10 minutes total. I sliced the bananas lengthwise with the skin on. My cookbook says to cook them 5-8 minutes skin side down and then two more minutes banana side down. I can't say too much about the bananas because 1) I don't like cooked bananas and 2) I'm no expert, but believe my bananas would have cooked better if I had turned on both grill burners, including the burner under the bananas. I put a table outside and plugged in my waffle iron in an outdoor outlet. I kept a timer (for the waffles), the waffle batter with measuring cup, and the waffle iron on the table. Grilling fruit is not just a gimmick. It actually improves the flavor of the fruit. Try it sometime. You can add cinnamon, brown sugar,or maple syrup. Or go savory with balsamic vinegar and/or red pepper. If you are adding one of these to peaches or plums, start cut side down, flip and add the maple or balsamic vinegar or whatever. Serve savory fruit with grilled pork or chicken and grilled onions. My cookbook also says you can grill pound cake. Sounds good for the end of a barbecue. Grilled pound cake with grilled fruit.

Grilled Pork Loin

I think this recipe is really good. But, other people think it's fantastic. It's received raves from lots of people. When choosing a pork loin, look for one that has the same circumference for the whole roast. In other words, not one with a wide end and a skinny end. I usually get a roast that is twice the size of the roast the recipe calls for. They sell them at Dan's Supermarket and they are relatively cheap. It's also important to note that this is not a pork tender loin, but a pork loin. It's about 3 inches in diameter and two feet long for a whole pork loin. They also sell half pork loins (although I can't tell you where). If yours is much smaller, you have a pork tender loin. The recipe says you should tie the roast. I never bother with tying the pork loin. The pork loin won't stay perfectly cylindrical without tying, but I don't care. Be sure to have a spray bottle ready and check the grill often in the beginning of the cooking process in case you see a suspicious orange glow. You might have to spay the wood chips if some ignite. I just use plain ole pepper for the seasoning the roast. I grill my roast to a higher temperature then called for in the recipe. I haven't figured out what temperature I would prefer yet. 165 degrees is too high. This recipe takes an absolute minimum of 5 hours and as much as 6 hours 15 minutes(without prep time). This is another recipe from America's Test Kitchen.

GRILL-ROASTED PORK LOIN

With only minor recipe adjustments, a roast larger than the one called for can b cooked using the same method. For each additional pound of meat over 3 pounds (do not use a roast larger then 6 pounds), increase the salt in the brine by 1/4 cup and the water by 1 quart; also increase the oil and pepper by 1 tsp each (if using a spice rub, increase the recipe by 1/3). Because the cooking time depends more on the diameter of the loin than the length, the cooking time for a larger roast will not increase significantly. After roasting the roast in step 5, begin checking the internal temperature after 30 minutes of cooking.

INGREDIENTS

3/4 C table salt

1 boneless blade end pork loin roast, 2 1/2 to 3 lbs, tied with kitchen twine at 1 1/2 inch intervals.

2 T olive oil

1 T coarsely ground black pepper or 1 recipe spice rub (recipe follows)

1. Dissolve salt in 3 quarts water in a large container, submerge roast, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until fully seasoned, 3 to 4 hours. I put the salt, water and pork in an extra large Ziploc (2 1/2 quart I believe) and place that in a cooler. Add extra ice around the Ziploc to make sure it stays cold. (I added ice after I took the picture.) Sanitize the cooler after you are done using it, in case the Ziploc bag leaked. Rinse roast under cold water and dry thoroughly with paper towels. You may as well start soaking the wood in step 3 now. It doesn't matter if wood soaks longer.

2. Rub roast with oil; sprinkle with pepper or the spice rub (NOT SALT, it doesn't need salt because of the brine) and press into meat. Let roast stand at room temperature 1 hour. (You'll need to put the wood on the grill in step 3 before your hour is up)

3. Meanwhile, soak two 3-inch wood chunks in water to cover for 1 hour; drain. About 25 minutes before grilling , open bottom grill vents. Using large chimney starter, ignite about 5 quarts charcoal, or about 90 briquettes, and burn until fully ignited, about 15 minutes. Empty coals into grill; build modified two level fire by arranging coals to cover one-half grill, piling them around 3 briquettes high. Place soaked wood chunks on coals. Position grill grate over coals, cover grill, and heat until hot, about 5 minutes; scrape grill grate clean with grill brush.

4. Grill pork directly over fire until browned, about 2 minutes; using thongs, rotate one-quarter turn and repeat until all sides are well browned, about 8 minutes total. Move loin to cool side of grill, positioning roast parallel with and as close as possible to fire. Open grill lid vents halfway; cover grill so vents are opposite fire and draw smoke through grill. (Internal grill Temperature should be about 425 degrees.) Cook 20 minutes.

5. Remove cover; using tongs, rotate roast 180 degrees so side facing fire now faces away. Replace cover and continue until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of roast registers 140 degrees, 10 to 30 minutes longer, depending on thickness.

6. Transfer roast to cutting board; tent loosely with foil and let rest 15 minutes. Internal temperature should rise to 150 degrees. Remove twine; cut roast into 1/2-inch-thick slices and serve.

GRILL ROASTED PORK LOIN FOR A GAS GRILL

1 & 2. Follow recipe for Grill-roasted pork loin for a charcoal grill through step 2.

3. Soak 2 cups wood chips in water to cover for 30 minutes; drain. Place chips in a small disposable aluminum pan. About 20 minutes before grilling, place wood-chip pan on primary burner( burner that will remain on during cooking); position cooking grate. Ignite grill, turn all burners to high, cover, and heat until very hot, about 15 minutes. (If chips ignite, use water-filled spray bottle to extinguish.) Scrape grate clean with grill brush.

4. -6. Continue with recipe from step 4, keeping lid down except as needed to check progress of pork.

CHILI-MUSTARD SPICE RUB

makes about 2 T

INGREDIENTS

2 tsp chili powder

2 tsp powdered mustard

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne

SWEET AND SAVORY SPICE RUB

makes about 2 T

INGREDIENTS

1 T cumin seeds

1 1/2 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

1/2 tsp ground allspice

Combine cumin, coriander, and fennel in small skillet; toast over medium heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes, shaking skillet occasionally. Cool to room temperature; grind coarse. Transfer to small bowl; stir in cinnamon and allspice.

Teriyaki Marinade

This is so much better then the stuff you buy from the store. Also, this way you can just mix up what you want. I don't eat teriyaki often enough to keep a bottle around, but I always have the ingredients on hand to mix some up. I don't know what is the best way to marinade with this. I marinated the chicken a half hour and then brushed them with the marinade as they were grilling. I made chicken thighs, but I think smaller pieces of meat would work better. In the recipe in the cookbook they used this marinade on steak for kebabs. I made a stir fry on the grill to go with my chicken. After I grilled them in a grill pan, I put the warm vegetables in a bowl with the teriyaki marinade rather then trying to marinade the vegetables first. My method for cooking the stir fry still needs a lot of work. Next time I plan on adding almost all of the veggies at once. I added the broccoli and carrots first this time and they were burning before i started adding other veggies. It ended up good though. If you want to give it a shot I used broccoli, carrots, celery, onion, pineapple, water chestnuts, pea pods, zucchini, peanuts, and cilantro.

Teriyaki Marinade

INGREDIENTS

½ cup soy sauce

4 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tsp grated ginger

2 tsp lime juice

2 tsp honey

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

¼ tsp sesame oil

Mix ingredients.

Turkey on the Grill

Yum. Smoked turkey on the grill. I made this for Thanksgiving a few years ago. A friend of mine who had been to several Thanksgivings that year said my turkey won. Woo-hoo! I won. I even had the last turkey of the day, when he should have been absolutely sick of turkey.

O.K. Here's how you do it. First, make sure you choose a turkey that fits on your grill. Small to medium turkeys are your best bet no matter how you are cooking your turkey. It's better to cook two small turkeys then one huge one. The huge one is much more likely to be dry before it's completely cooked. I have a small Weber grill. On my grill a medium size turkey fits fine. However, I like to choose one that is short from breast to back and wide from leg to leg. If it is long from breast to back there is a chance that it could hit the top of my grill. It's a weird thing to keep in mind while shopping...turkey shape. In the picture, I rubbed sage herb butter on the turkey in a attempt to make it even better. At some point the butter must have made the turkey catch on fire. The bottom of the turkey was totally charred. I don't think that was better after all. I plan on skipping that step in the future. Because of the apparent turkey fire, my turkey turned out a bit dry. It was still very good though. I had planned to have leftovers for future salads and sandwiches. I grilled this only yesterday. But, friends and family taste testers have almost cleaned me out of turkey already. I made carrots and potatoes to go with the turkey. With about 1/2 hour of the turkey cooking time left, add potatoes. I sliced my potatoes in half. Then I inserted a slice of onion, sage butter (or regular butter), and salt and pepper. I double wrapped the potatoes in foil. In a separate foil packet add sliced carrots, sage butter (or regular butter), and salt and pepper. When you take the turkey off the grill, leave the potatoes and add the carrot packet. They will finish cooking as your turkey rests. The potatoes are really good and get a bit of smokey flavor. They are almost like potatoes cooked on a campfire.

TURKEY ON THE GRILL

INGREDIENTS

1 turkey (mine was 11 lbs)

2 gallons of water

2 C table salt

sage herb butter (only if you want to set your turkey on fire)

pepper

1. Rinse the defrosted turkey inside and out. Remove neck and giblets.

2. Dissolve salt in water and place turkey in the salt water and place in the refrigerator for 4 to 6 hours.

OR

Place turkey in a 2 1/2 gallon Ziploc bag. Place that bag in a cooler. Mix 1/4 c salt with 1 quart of water until dissolved. Add the salt water to the turkey. Mix another 1/4 c salt with 1 quart water and add to turkey. Continue to do this until the turkey will be covered with water when the bag is closed. (about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 gallons water) Add ice around the outside of the Ziploc bag until the cooler is full. Place in a cool place for 4 to 6 hours. Why should I brine my turkey and what's a brine? Note- I added more ice after I too the picture. I didn't want the ice to obscure the turkey in the bag.

3. Soak as many wood chips as will fit in a disposable Weber grill pan. About 1 quart. Make sure they are completely covered with water. They only need to soak for about 1 hour, but it is a good idea to start the wood chips soaking as soon as you finish step two so you don't forget to do it. It makes no difference if they soak longer.

4. Obsessively clean your sink.

5. Drain wood chips and place in the disposable grill pan. Place pan over the front burner, put under the grill grates. Do this before you preheat the grill. O.K. Now you can preheat your grill. If you heat the grill first, you'll be sorry. It's the voice of experience.

6. Close all your windows near your grill so your house doesn't smell like smoke for days. This is also the voice of experience.

7. Drain turkey and pat dry. Pepper the chicken, but DO NOT SALT. The brine will make the turkey salty enough.

8. Place turkey in the center of the grill. Turn the burners down until the interior temperature of the grill is 375-400 degrees. Check the temperature often at the beginning of the grilling process to make sure you are grilling at the correct temperature. You can check it every once in a while after that. DO NOT OPEN THE LID OF THE GRILL. Every time you open the grill two things happen. First you lose smoke, and therefore lose flavor. Second, the grill temperature drops and it takes longer to grill the bird. If you must open your grill, be quick. Note- my turkey had a broken wing, so I couldn't bend both of the wings toward the bottom of the bird.

9. Roast the turkey. (times are for an unstuffed turkey cooked at 350 degrees)

6-8 lbs 1 1/4-2 hours

10-12 lbs 2-3 hours

14-18 lbs 3-4 hours

10. Clean kitchen obsessively. Realize that you could have cleaned you sink a little less obsessively before, because you just have to clean it again. Make sure you wash your cooler really, really well. Clean it with disinfectant or bleach. Make sure it is absolutely completely dry before you put it away. If you are concerned about disinfectant, let it dry. After it is really, really dry, you can rinse it out.

11. When your turkey is about a half hour from being done, add the potatoes. At this point your dog will be running around the grill and whining like he's completely lost his mind. What makes you think I'm grilling for you dog? Has it ever been for you? No. Just give is a rest already. Seriously. Knock off the crazy. You're driving me nuts.

12. When the thickest part of the turkey breast reaches 165 or the thickest part of the turkey thigh reaches 170-175 the turkey is done. Transfer it to a cutting board. Add your carrot foil packet to the grill if using. Tent the turkey loosely with tinfoil and let it rest 30 minutes. Why should I let it rest?

13. Now you can carve your turkey and eat it.

Lora's Barbecue Sauce

I flirted with the idea of making this recipe my "secret recipe". I had this idea at one time that all cooks should have one secret recipe. The possibility of making this a secret recipe lasted until someone asked me for the recipe. I realized how stupid the idea of a secret recipe was. 1. The idea of keeping the recipe to myself seemed greedy. I like to share. You taught me well mom. 2. Like I can really keep a secret. This is great on barbecued chicken or mixed in with hamburger before you grill your burger.

I did some experiments this year, but it looks like the original recipe will stay the same. This recipe is from Gourmet Magazine in May 1994, page 38. (I took really good recipe notes at that time I guess.)

LORA'S BARBECUE SAUCE

INGREDIENTS

2 cups chopped onion

1 cup brewed coffee

1 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup cider vinegar

2 T chili powder

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup firmly packed, dark brown sugar

1/4 cup chopped canned green chilies (I use the whole can)

1 T chopped garlic

2 T salt

In a large saucepan simmer all ingredients, stirring occasionally, 25 minutes. Cool. In a blender puree sauce in BATCHES until smooth. Seriously. Warm sauce will shoot out the top of your blender. Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender to puree the sauce. Makes 4 cups.
I use this to make Barbecue Chicken Pizza on the Grill.

Beef Roast on the Grill

Roast on the grill is easy and hard to goof up. I once made a roast that caught on fire and ended up looking like a huge piece of charcoal. I was sure it was garbage, but my mom said, "Lets just see." She cut into it, and it was one of the best roasts I've ever had. The roast in the picture was a cheap roast (the label said pot roast) that was less then 2 lbs. It was a little overcooked and I didn't let it rest enough before cutting, but still really good. By the way, sorry about the chart at the bottom of the post. Blogger and I were in negotiations for a while. Eventually we decided this was the best we could do.

Beef roast on the Grill

It's best to start with a room temperature roast, but it will still be fine if your roast is refrigerator temperature. Oil the roast and season with salt and pepper or your favorite seasoning.

Place the roast directly over a grill flame on high. Sear each side of roast for 3-4 minutes per side. If you sear your roast, grill it for less total time then indicated in the chart below. You can skip this step in a pinch, but I think you get better flavor if you do sear it.

Place meat, fat side up, grilling over indirect heat. The internal grill temperature should be about 400 degrees. (the times for grilling roasts are based on 350-375 degrees) I personally like to roast everything (roasts, whole chickens, etc.) at 400 degrees. (I do this in the oven too.) If you grill your roast at 400, it will take less time then it says in the chart below. I strongly prefer medium rare roast. Check the internal temperature of your roast with an instant read thermometer. Let the roast rest 15 minutes before cutting. This will result in a juicier roast.

Medium Rare 145, Medium 160, Well Done 170

brisket, fresh 5-6 lbs Medium 2 1/2 to 3 hrs

rib eye roast 4-6 lbs Medium Rare 1 to 1 1/2 hrs 1
Medium 1/2 to 2 hrs
Well done 2 to 2 1/2 hrs

standing rib roast 4-6 lbs Medium Rare 1 1/4 to2 1/4hrs
Medium 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 hrs
Well Done 2 3/4 to 3 1/4 hrs

sirloin tip roast,boneless 4-6 lbs Medium Rare 1 1/2 to 2 hrs
Medium2 to 2 1/2 hrs
Well Done 2 1/2 to 3 hrs

Tenderloin roast, half 2-3 lbs Medium Rare 45-60 minutes

Tenderloin roast, whole 4-5 lbs Medium Rare 50minutes-1 1/2hrs

Bleu Cheese Steak

I honestly don't cook that many steaks. I'm a bit intimidated by the many cuts of steak and I don't have the strong steak craving that most men seem to have. When I do make steaks, this is the only way I cook them. They are is sooooo good this way. The first time I made it I was just grilling for myself. I found myself gesturing toward the steak and making Mmmmmm noises to myself. I use chives in this recipe because I grow them in my herb garden. Either chives or green onion tops are fine.

BLEU CHEESE STEAK

4 steaks

4 oz bleu cheese, crumbled

¼ cup sliced green onion tops (or chives)

Mix bleu cheese and green onions (chives). Season steak with salt and pepper steak. Grill one side and flip. Spread cheese and onion mixture on steak and close lid. This chart has the total cooking time for both sides.

Listed in this order: medium-rare (145 degrees), medium (160 degrees) ,well-done (170 degrees)

1-inch thick steaks: 6-7 minutes ,7-9 minutes, 9-11 minutes

1 1/2-inch thick steaks: 10-12 minutes, 12-15 minutes, 15-19 minutes

2-inch thick steaks: 15-17 minutes, 17-19 minutes, 19-22 minutes

Grilled Arugula Salad with Nectarine, Onions, Bleu Cheese, and Pecans

It's not your usual burgers and hot dogs, that's for sure. I was inspired by this post. I changed a few things because I didn't have the same ingredients in my refrigerator. Kristin at Our Kitchen Sink used feta, peaches, walnuts, red onion, all arugula, and a honey/lemon vinaigrette. Mine worked out fine. It's a salad. You can get creative.

I can never find arugula in the stores in Bismarck. I grow my own. Any spicy or bitter green you like would be good with this salad. Or, just plain lettuce would work. The arugula adds a nice bite to the salad however. I used half arugula and half leafy green lettuce. I usually don't like all arugula salads. But in this case, I think I might have liked just arugula. The peppery arugula is a nice contrast to the sweet peaches. Also, I just used my trusty old grill pan instead of threading the onions and peaches on skewers.

Grilled Arugula Salad with Nectarine, Onions, Bleu Cheese, and Pecans

INGREDIENTS (for one salad)

1/2 a grilled chicken breast

1 nectarine or peach, cut in slices

3 1/4 inch slices of red onion or plain ole onion

1 to 2 T bleu cheese (or feta)

1 to 2 T pecans (or walnuts or pistachios)

chives (optional)

creamy balsamic vinaigrette

arugula

green leaf lettuce

Heat the Grill.

Chicken: Season chicken breast with salt and pepper. Cook chicken breast on oiled grates. Boneless chicken breasts take 10-12 minutes total. Turn once. Optional-baste chicken breasts with some of the balsamic vinaigrette while grilling. Cut into chunks or slices when finished.

Onion: Brush the onion slices with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the onion slices in a grill pan. Onions Take 10-12 minutes total. Flip half way through.

Peaches: Either toss nectarine slices with oil or oil the grill pan (or spray with cooking spray). When the time is right, add nectarines to the grill pan. Nectarines take 5 minutes, flipping once.

Assemble your salad with the remaining ingredients.

Grilled Tandoori-Style Chicken Breasts with Raita

Tandoori chicken is usually cooked on a Tandoor oven. A tandoor oven is an Indian clay oven that gets very hot. But, a grill is an acceptable substitute at home. The chicken in the picture doesn't have the skin on, because that's what I had on hand. Grilling chicken with the skin makes for much moister chicken. Toss the skin before you eat the chicken, but still grill with the skin. Serve with sliced cucumber or a cucumber salad. Making extra raita to serve with the cucumbers would be good. This recipe is from the cookbook "The Quick Recipe" from Cooks Illustrated.

Grilled Tandoori-Style Chicken Breasts with Raita

INGREDIENTS

RAITA

1 c whole-milk yogurt (or 1% yogurt, but preferably not fat free)

2 T chopped cilantro leaves

1 medium clove garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tsp)

salt

cayenne pepper

TANDOORI CHICKEN

1 T grated fresh ginger

1 T ground coriander

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne

4 chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on, 10 to 12 oz each

1. Heat the grill. Oil the grill grates.

2. Meanwhile mix the yogurt, cilantro, and garlic together in a medium bowl. Season with salt and cayenne pepper to taste and refrigerate until needed. Mix the ginger, coriander, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, salt and cayenne together in a small bowl.

3. Coat both sides of the chicken breasts with the spice mixture. Season under the skin if you plan to toss the skin after you cook it. Cook the chicken, uncovered, over direct heat until well browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Move the chicken to indirect heat and continue to cook for 10 minutes, grill lid down. Turn and cook for 5 minutes, grill lid down. Chicken should register at least 160 degrees on an instant read thermometer. Serve with Raita (yogurt/cilantro mixture).

Fire Grilled Quesadillas

There's complicated about quesadillas on the grill. But I thought I'd post this anyway. Some of you may not know that quesadillas are perfection on the grill. All you need to know is how to flip them. Today's quesadilla was whole wheat tortillas filled with beans, onion, green pepper, chive flowers, cilantro, and cheddar.

FIRE GRILLED QUESADILLAS

INGREDIENTS

2 tortillas, helps if they are the same size and shape (I like whole wheat)

Shredded cheese, Pepper jack, jack, cojack, cheddar, etc. Anything that goes with Mexican food.

Filling:

Any thing you would use for a quesadilla filling. Don't overstuff. If you want a little extra fancy, grill your veggies before you make them into quesadilla filling or use leftover grilled veggies. Leftover corn on the cob would be great.

Fresh herbs like cilantro, parsley, and chives would be nice.

Spray the tortilla with cooking spray or brush with oil. Place the tortilla oiled side down on the grill. Working quickly, sprinkle with half the cheese. Add your filling. Sprinkle remaining cheese and top with a tortilla, oiled side up. Close the grill and cook on medium for approximately four minutes. (I didn't time this) Don't leave the grill. Check often to see when the tortilla is done. When it is browned with nice grill marks, it's time to flip.

To flip, slide the quesadilla on to a plate. Off the grill, place another plate on top of the plate with the quesadilla on it. The plate on the top should be upside down. Hold the two plates together, and quickly flip. Remove the top plate (was previously on the bottom). Slide the quesadilla on to the grill. Cover and grill four more minutes. (approximately). When the quesadilla is browned on the bottom you can slide it onto a plate and take it off the grill. Let it rest for 2-5 minutes. This helps it set. That way, when you cut into it, the cheese won't ooze all over and the top tortilla won't slide off.

Oh. Add eggs and bacon to your filling and it's breakfast. Also, my yogurt chive sauce is good on these.

Cornmeal Crusted Fish on the Grill

O.K. so I have a fish phobia. I have this belief that I don't know how to cook fish. I actually not that bad. I'm still a bit afraid of it though. I'm trying to cook and eat more fish, because I don't eat enough. I have a big box of pollock in my freezer for inspiration. This isn't the most impressive fish recipe ever, but it's quick and easy and I seem to make it quite often. I also recommend coming to terms with the fact that the fish might not be whole when you serve it off the grill and that's O.K. Fish can get hard to flip,especially if it's really thin like this fish. By the way, there is not less calories in cooking spray then oil. Cooking spray is just oil and propellants. There is only less calories if you use less then you would if you were using oil. It makes more sense in this recipe to spray the fish with oil then to try to brush it on.

CORNMEAL CRUSTED FISH ON THE GRILL

Fish (I used pollock that was maybe 1/4 inch thick)

Seasoning Mix (I used Penzey's Northwoods Fire but I also like Cajun seasoning or Old Bay seasoning. Anything you like on fish.)

Salt (if there's none in your seasoning mix)

Cornmeal

Cooking Spray

Pat fish dry with paper towels or a kitchen towel if it's really wet like mine was. Season fish with seasoning and salt (if using). Bread fish with cornmeal. Heat the grill with the flat grill pan on the grill. Spray the fish liberally with cooking spray. I cooked my thin fish for 3 minutes per side. Cook for the correct time for the thickness of your fish.

Grilled Vegetable Chart

GRILLED VEGETABLES IN FOIL PACKETS

Place veggies in center of foil. Season to taste with salt and pepper, dot of butter (or olive or canola oil). Add 1T water (or ice cube). Seal foil with some area for steam expansion. Cook over indirect heat turning halfway between cooking time. You can also use a marinade (that hasn't been near your raw meat) or salad dressing. Kraft Zesty Italian is really good with veggies on the grill. I think it's terrible on salads though. Weird. These charts are from the cookbook that came with my Weber grill. I'll let you know my real life times as I make veggies this summer.

BEANS, GREEN AND WAX (WHOLE) 30 beans 30-35 minutes (real world time 20-25 minutes)

BROCCOLI 1 cup 15-18 minutes

BRUSSELS SPROUTS 1 ½ cups 18-20 minutes

CARROTS 1 ½ cups 15-20 minutes (20 minutes real world time, done but not browned)

CAULIFLOWER 2 cups 20-25 minutes

CORN ON THE COB (FOIL WRAPPED) 4 ears 25-35 minutes

EGGPLANT (cut into 1-inch slices) 1 small 20-25 minutes

KOHLRABI (julienned) 1 ½ cups 25-30 minutes

MUSHROOMS (WHOLE OR SLICED) 1 ½ cups 8-12 minutes

PEPPERS, RED, GREEN OR YELLOW

(CUT INTO 1-INCH STRIPS) 1 ½ cups 15-20 minutes

POTATOES (FOIL WRAPPED) 4 medium 50-60 minutes
YELLOW SUMMER SQUASH

(CUT INTO 1-INCH CUBES) 1 ½ cups 6-10 minutes

ZUCCHINI (CUT INTO ½-INCH SLICES) 1 ½ cups 6-10 minutes

DIRECTLY GRILLED VEGETABLES

First brush vegetables with oil or vinaigrette. Then place on cooking grate and turn once during cooking.

ASPARAGUS- Wash and scrape off scales with vegetable peeler or knife. Snap or cut off woody stems. Arrange spears crosswise on grill and cook 5-7 minutes.

GREEN ONIONS- Arrange crosswise on grill. Cook about 3 minutes.

MUSHROOMS- Thread on skewers and cook about 3 minutes.

ONION- Cut in ¾ -inch slices. Thread crosswise onto skewer and cook 10-12 minutes.

TOMATOES- Halve tomatoes crosswise. Cook 5-6 minutes. Do not turn.

ZUCCHINI- Halve lengthwise. Cook 7-9 minutes.

ROASTED RED PEPPERS

Place whole pepper on cooking grate. Cook pepper until it chars evenly on all sides. Remove from cooking grate and place in a zip lick bag and close tightly. Let stand 10-15 minutes. Peel off charred skin, cut off top and remove seeds. Pepper can be done ahead of time at this point and stored in fridge. It is also good with green peppers.

ROASTED CORN IN HUSKS

Trim off excess silk and soak in water for at least one hour. Cook 25 minutes turning three times.

Grill Pan for a Burger

Woo hoo. I finally got the Bar and Grill open for business. (For those of you not in the know, that means I got the screened in patio ready for the season.) You can expect a ton of grill and barbecue recipes, because I live on the grill in the summer. When I make burgers, I make onions, mushrooms and peppers to go on top of them. I toss the veggies in oil, add salt and pepper and then cook them along side my burger in a grill pan. Today's burger was a hamburger with Swiss, topped with onions, pepper, and mushroom served on a homemade part whole wheat rye bun. (I'm still working on the rye recipe.) Hamburgers are 4 1/2 -5 minutes per side for medium and 5-6 minutes per side for well done. Medium is relatively safe if you ground your own meat. If you got your hamburger from a store, then well done it is.

*I lied. The FDA says you can eat ground meat at 160.

Chili Curry grilled pork chops

I love this spice rub for pork chops. If you don't want to brine you pork chops, salt the chop directly and then add the rub. In the 80's pork got a well deserved bad rap for being full of saturated fat. After that they bred pork to be much leaner. The fat that was in pork used to keep it moist while you cooked it. Now it is hard to cook pork without it ending up dry and tough. One way to prevent pork drying out is to brine it. Brining it helps to flavor the meat and to keep it moist. Geeks can click here for the Wikipedia definition and explanation of what happens chemically. This recipe is from America's Test Kitchen.

GRILLED PORK CHOPS

INGREDIENTS

3/4 C kosher salt or 6 T table salt

6 T sugar

3 quarts water

4 bone-in rib loin pork chops or center-cut loin chops, each 1 ½ inches thick ( about 3 lbs total)

1 recipe spice rub or ground black pepper

1. Dissolve salt and sugar in 3 quarts cold water in 2-gallon zipper-lock plastic bags. Add chops and seal bag, pressing out as much air as possible. (Alternatively, divide brine and chops evenly between two 1 gallon zip lock bags.) Refrigerate, turning bag once until fully seasoned, about 1 hour. Remove chops from brine and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Coat chops completely with spice rub or season generously with pepper.

3. Cook chops, uncovered, over direct heat 3 to 4 minutes per side. Move chops to indirect heat. Cover and cook, turning once, until instant read thermometer registers 135 degrees, 7 to 9 minutes longer. Transfer chops to platter, tent loosely with tin foil, and let rest 5 minutes. Internal temp should rise to 145 degrees. Serve immediately.

CURRY CHILI RUB FOR PORK CHOPS

makes 1/4 cup, enough for 4 thick pork chops or more regular (maybe 8?)

1 T ground cumin

1 T chili powder

1 T curry powder (maybe a little less)

1 tsp ground black pepper

2 tsp brown sugar

Combine all ingredients in small bowl.