GRILLING SIDES

 

                                                    Grilling sides

          Our rainy weather of late has not been conducive to outside grilling unless you live in a house with a covered porch. However, a ridged grill pan works well on the kitchen stove for some items and there is still a lot of summer with potential for good grilling weather.

Grilling of course has been expanding far beyond hot dogs, hamburgers, and plain steaks. We now grill not only chicken, seafood, corn, and a variety of vegetables, but also fruit like peaches, apple slices and pineapple, with a variety of tangy and even sweet toppings. For meat, marinades impart a variety of flavors as given in my red wine recipe that is excellent for beef and lamb, especially for kebabs (cut in 2-inch cubes) with mushrooms.

Red wine marinade

          Mix together in a flat dish with sides: 1 cup dry red wine, 2 chopped garlic cloves, 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 2 tblsp. vegetable oil, 2 tblsp. ketchup, ½ tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. salt, 1 ½ tblsp. red wine vinegar, ½ tsp. marjoram, ½ tsp. thyme. Place sirloin steak, London broil or kebab meat in the marinade, turn to coat and marinate at least 1 hour or overnight. Place 12 large fresh mushrooms in marinade for about 10 minutes before grilling meat and mushrooms.

          Grilling side assortments have also expanded with selections of grain, legume, and pasta salads far beyond the old staples of baked beans and potato salad. In fact, one rarely encounters baked beans at a summer picnic these days. And yet, the rich and complex flavor of such beans is difficult to replace. Here is my version of thick baked beans, that will stay put, without running to usurp the flavor or other offerings on your plate.

                                     Ultimate Boston vegetarian baked beans

          In a large bowl stir together: two 28 oz cans of vegetarian baked beans, 1 tblsp. onion flakes, 2 tblsp. molasses, 2 tblsp. white vinegar, 2 tblsp. ketchup, ½ tsp. dry mustard, 1 tsp. liquid smoke flavoring. Oil a deep baking dish with 1 tblsp. vegetable oil and pour in the bean mixture. Bake uncovered 1 hour at 375 degrees, stir and continue baking at 325 degrees, with additional stirring for up to 2 additional hours, to desired consistency. These baked beans will taste authentic to serve not only to vegetarians but are acceptable also to anyone not wishing to eat pork products.

          Creamy potato salads have been the backbone of summer dining, but have the reputation of creating digestive upsets, when allowed to sit in outdoor heat for long periods of time.  Here is a potato salad recipe made with vinaigrette, that is much less likely to spoil quickly under summer heat conditions.

                                      Potato salad with mustard vinaigrette

          Dressing: 3 tblsp. white-wine vinegar, 1 tsp. sugar, 2 tblsp. coarse grained Dijon mustard, ½ tsp. lemon pepper, 2 tblsp. olive oil, ½ tsp. anchovy paste (optional) or ½ tsp. salt, ½ tsp. celery seed and ¼ cup finely chopped red onion.   

          Boil 1 and ½ lb small red and white potatoes in salted water for about 15 minutes, until just tender. Drain and toss with the dressing while warm. Toss with 2 tbslp. chopped dill or Italian parsley, ½ diced dill pickle and chopped greens from 2 scallions. Refrigerate and serve garnished with sliced radishes and dill or parsley.

          To quote cookbook author Kathy Lee: “If summer had a defining scent, it’d definitely would be the smell of barbeque”.

   (I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

 

 

 

 

THE VEGETARIAN LUNCH

 

 

                                            The vegetarian lunch

           These days, when families live scattered across the US landscape, a call from the youngest granddaughter planning a visit to Maine was more than welcome. She was having her first-year reunion with her three college friends over the 4^th of July weekend and “could she bring them to lunch”?

          “Of course,” was my quick answer, but then came the caveat- “one of them is a vegetarian”. This meant the easy lunch of some interesting soup, open-faced sandwiches and pie was out of the question. Although the weather was cool and rainy, my thoughts automatically turned to a Mediterranean menu, featuring Spanakopita which I described in a recent column on Greek food. That, a couple of interesting salads and a pie would take care of my vegetarian menu for our young visitors.

                                              Lentil salad with Feta and dill

          Rinse and place 1 cup black Beluga lentils in a 2 qt. pot. Add enough water to cover by 2-3 inches, ½ tsp. salt, 1 bay leaf, 4 cloves, 1 garlic clove cut in half and bring to boil. Lower heat to simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf and garlic, drain, and toss with the dressing while still warm. The lentils will still be ‘al dente’.

          Dressing: 2 tblsp. sherry vinegar, 2 tblsp. lemon juice, 3 tblsp. olive oil, ½ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. lemon pepper, ¼ tsp. toasted cumin seed and ½ tsp. oregano.

          When cooled, fold in: ¼ cup finely chopped red onion, ½ cup chopped red or orange pepper, 1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes, 1 cup crumbled Feta, ¼ cup each -chopped Italian parsley and dill. Chill for at least 3 hours or overnight. Serve in a shallow bowl garnished with 2 eggs cut in quarters and pitted Kalamata olives.

                             Wheatberry salad with fennel and radicchio

          Soak 1 cup wheatberries overnight in excess of cold water, this will considerably shorten the cooking time. If wheatberries are unavailable this dish would also taste well with very coarsely cracked bulghur wheat, which has a shorter cooking time.

          Drain wheatberries and cook in excess water with ½ tsp. salt 30-40 minutes and drain. In a large bowl combine with ½ cup toasted chopped pecans, ½ dried cranberries and 2 sliced scallions with green parts. While warm toss with dressing.

          Dressing: 3 tbslp. hazelnut oil, 3 tblsp. cider vinegar, 2 tblsp. lemon juice, 2 tsp. thyme, 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, 2 tsp. soy sauce and ¼ tsp. lemon pepper.

          When cool, fold in 1 cup coarsely shredded radicchio and 1 cup thinly sliced fennel bulb. Chill for several hours before serving.

          Fortunately, I still had some frozen Maine blueberries in the freezer, so the dessert was naturally Maine wild blueberry pie.  An unexpected bonus discovery was made the next day with some phyllo dough left over from making Spanakopita.

                                                      Plum-apple strudel

Filling for 2 short strudels: ½ cup sugar, ½ cup raisins, ½ cup chopped walnuts, ½ tsp. cinnamon and ¼ tsp. nutmeg, tossed with 1 cored and peeled apple sliced thin and 2 firm black plums, pitted and sliced thin.

          Melt 4 tblsp. unsalted butter for basting the phyllo dough. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a baking sheet (preferably ridged to catch any leakage) with baking spray. Unwrap the dough and place in dampened kitchen towel. Place 2 sheets of the dough on another damp towel and lightly baste with butter using a pastry brush. Repeat the process until you have 6 sheets of dough. Sprinkle the surface with 1-2 scant tblsp. fine dry breadcrumbs. Line half of the filling along the short edge of the phyllo sheets leaving an inch on the sides to fold over the filling. Roll phyllo to enclose the filling in a jelly roll starting from the short edge and transfer to the pan. Brush completely with melted butter. Repeat the process with another 6 sheets of phyllo. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and carefully transfer with spatula to a cake rack covered with a sheet of wax paper. There will be some leakage from the bottom, but it will solidify on cooling. Serve sliced for an elegant dessert.

          Good food and company can cheer everyone on a rainy day.

    (I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)