Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs

It is an undeniable truth in life that food on a stick is great.  Meat on a stick?  Great.  Vegetables on a stick?  Great.  Dessert on a stick?  Great.  Food and sticks just go so well together.  I took advantage of that fact for one of this week's meals - I made some really fantastic teriyaki chicken kabobs.  The same ingredients could have gone into a stir fry and been tasty, sure -- but really, why not put it on a stick?  

Kabobs are so tasty that Blogger's spell-check really wants to correct their name to "Kaboom!" The high-heat cooking method gives a great char to the vegetables that's hard to get from a pan while keeping the chicken tender and flavorful.  What are you waiting for?  Put some food on a stick!

Here's what I used: chicken breast, bell peppers, sweet onion, pineapple, fresh mushrooms, teriyaki sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, lime juice, and a bit of salt and pepper.

First, go ahead and chop the vegetables down to an appropriate bite-or-two size that will fit on your skewers.  I went ahead and left my mushrooms whole, but if yours are bigger feel free to chop them down, too.

Chop the chicken down into similar, bite-or-two sized pieces fit for skewering.  My chicken wasn't quite done thawing when I chopped it, but that actually worked to my advantage -- slightly frozen chicken is very, very easy to chop into just the right shape and size you're looking for.

The key to a good kabob is a good marinade.  I spiced up my bottle teriyaki sauce with some lime juice, rice vinegar, and sesame sesame oil to make sure that the chicken and vegetables would all be really packed with flavor.

I went ahead and marinated both the chicken and the vegetables (in separate bags) overnight - basically, everything but the pineapple.  Be especially certain not to leave pineapple in a marinade with meats for longer than an hour or so, as pineapple juice will break down meats and make them quite soft and unpleasant if they're in contact too long.

Give the chicken and vegetables plenty of time to marinate -- overnight if at all possible.

When it's time to cook, don't forget to chop your last ingredient - the pineapple!  Before you start chopping, get your skewers in to soak -- soak at least 30 minutes, lest they catch on fire.

Once your skewers have soaked at least a half-hour, assemble your kabobs.  I didn't really have a set pattern for my skewering - I just grabbed whatever seemed right to go next, and tried to make sure that each skewer got at least a few pieces of everything.  Pre-heat your grill or broiler while you assemble and it should be ready to go by the time you're done.

Broil the kebabs for 4-5 minutes per side, turning once, until the vegetables are slightly charred and the chicken is cooked through.  If you have some marinade leftover from the vegetables, feel free to give them an extra basting as you turn halfway through.

Serve hot over rice or your starch of choice.

Recipe: Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs

Prep Time: 15 Minutes (Plus Marinade Time) | Cook Time: 10 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 6-8

Ingredients

• 2 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
• 1 whole Pineapple
• 1 large Sweet Onion
• 2 large Green Bell Peppers
• 12 oz. Fresh Mushrooms
• 1 cup Teriyaki Sauce
• 2 tablespoons Lime Juice
• 1/4 cup Rice Vinegar
• 2 tsp Sesame Oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Bamboo Skewers

Instructions

1. Chop chicken and vegetables into bite-sized pieces large enough to easily skewer.
2. Combine teriyaki sauce, rice vinegar, and lime juice.  Separate into two portions and marinate chicken and vegetables in separate containers overnight.
3. Soak bamboo skewers at least 30 minutes before assembling kabobs.
4. Chop pineapple into bite-sized pieces large enough to easily skewer.
5. Assemble kabobs by alternating all ingredients on bamboo skewers.
6. Broil kabobs 4-5 minutes per side until vegetables are lightly charred and chicken is cooked through.
7. Serve warm over rice or other starch.

Pork Chops a la Nicole

One day, probably about a month or so, my cousin Nicole sent me a message on Facebook asking for a recipe suggestion.  It felt a little bit like Chopped - she had a few ingredients she wanted to use for a dinner, and wasn't sure what to do with all of them.  Thankfully, unlike Chopped, the ingredients all fit together nicely, so it was a fun set to try to think into a coherent recipe.

Here's Nicole with her husband Adam and their (bloody adorable) son Logan.

Nicole had pork chops, diced potatoes, and zucchini to work with, and was leaning toward doing it all on the grill.  Pork chops and the grill get along great, so that was no problem.  When it comes to diced potatoes, my first thought was a hash, and I figured the zucchini could fit in there just fine, too.  I suggested a marinade for the pork and a method for putting together a hash, and Nicole said it went great.

I could hardly suggest a recipe without then trying to make it myself, now could I?  I ended up making a few changes to my original suggestions based on Nicole's feedback, but my end result made or a seriously tasty dinner.

Here's what you'll need: pork chops, a bit of bacon, sweet potatoes, zucchini, a sweet onion, some olive oil, some vinegar (white or cider), garlic or garlic powder, basil, oregano, thyme, mustard, salt, and pepper.

First, combine a bit of oil, vinegar, mustard, and lots of the spices into a nice marinade for the pork.  It's best to let it marinate overnight, but if you're in a hurry an hour or two will do the trick.  Let it marinate in the fridge and come back when it's time to cook.

Once the chops have had plenty of time to marinade, grill them up.  For thin chops like I used, 2-3 minutes per side was plenty.  Do your best to time it so that your pork will be done and rested more or less at the same time as the hash, which will take 15-20 minutes to make from chopping to finish.

When you're ready to get started, peel and chop the sweet potatoes, and also chop the zucchini and sweet onion into small, bite-sized pieces.

Give the bacon a rough chop and get it rendering in a pan.  Take care not to overcook it - it'll go back into the pan with the rest of the hash later on.  When it's well rendered, but not yet crispy, pull it out and set it aside.

Drain off most of the excess grease, but leave a few tablespoons in which to saute the diced sweet potatoes.  Cook them, stirring often, until they're starting to brown on the outside.  Try a bite - careful, they'll be hot - and when they're reasonably tender, it's time to add more stuff to the mix.

When the sweet potatoes feel pretty tender, add the zucchini, onion, and bacon, as well as a generous helping of the seasonings - basil, oregano, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper.  Continue to saute, stirring often, until the zucchini and onion are nice and tender, then taste and adjust the seasonings.  I added just a quick dash of vinegar in the last 30 seconds or so of cooking to brighten the flavors up, and it really helped a lot.

Serve your grilled chops atop a generous portion of hash, and be ready to offer seconds.

Recipe: Pork Chops a la Nicole

Prep Time: 5 Minutes (+2-24 hour marinade) | Cook Time: 15-20 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 6 thin Pork Chops
• 4 medium Sweet Potatoes
• 4 medium Zucchini
• 1 large Sweet Onion
• 8 oz Bacon
• 3 tbsp Olive Oil
• 3 tbsp Vinegar (white or cider)
• 3 tbsp Dijon Mustard
• 2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Thyme
• 1 tsp Basil
• 1 tsp Oregano
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Combine olive oil, vinegar, mustard in a large resealable bag.  Add seasonings to taste.  Marinade pork minimum 2 hours.
2. Grill pork chops 2-3 minutes per side until done.  Rest under foil until ready to serve.
3. Peel sweet potatoes.  Chop sweet potatoes, zucchini, and onion into small, bite-sized pieces.
4. Chop bacon down into bite-sized pieces and render in a pan over medium heat until tender.  Set aside.
5. Drain away all but 2-3 tablespoons of grease.  Saute sweet potatoes in bacon grease until golden brown and tender.
6. Add zucchini, onion, and bacon to skillet with sweet potatoes, season with garlic powder, thyme, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper, and continue to saute until all vegetables are tender.
7. Optional: Add 1-2 tablespoons cider vinegar to hash in last minute of cooking and stir well.
8. Serve grilled chops hot atop a generous portion of hash.

Trout Pasta Pomodoro

Kristin and I are doing our best to eat generally more healthily, and part of doing so involves adding some more fish to our diet.  Now granted, pasta with cheese over it is not exactly ideal, but this was still a nice, light, fresh summer meal.  I got my inspiration from a similar Trout dish in Cooking Light, but opted to make it into a pasta and the "tomato topping" into a sauce so that the dish would be more of a meal.  It ended up really fantastic, and I'll definitely make it again.

Our ingredients are simple and fresh.  Trout is the star of the show - you can use a lot or a little, but make sure it's fresh and - preferably - sustainably farmed.  The sauce is based on fresh cherry tomatoes, backed up by some bacon, white wine, fresh basil, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Grate some cheese over the top at the end if you desire - we used Asiago to very nice results.

First thing's first, we're going to harvest a lot of flavor from not a lot of bacon.  Cut 2-3 ounces down small and get it rendering in a large saucepan or dutch oven over medium-high heat.

While that's rendering, get your veggies ready.  Dicing the onion is mandatory, as is removing the little green stems from your cherry tomatoes.  Also mince the garlic, or just be ready to wield your garlic press with extreme prejudice when the time comes.

I don't care what Alton Brown says about unitaskers in this instance - I adore my garlic press.

Mmm, bacon.  Once it's getting cooked, pull it out of the pan and set aside for a few minutes.  We'll get the veggies going in the awesomely flavorful stuff left at the bottom of the pan.

Dump those veggies right in.  Medium-high heat is fine, as we actually want the veggies to cook pretty quickly.

We want them to cook quickly because the cherry tomatoes will pop after a few minutes and release lots of liquid, quickly turning themselves into the beginnings of a sauce.  If you want it chunkier, just let them alone once they've popped.  If you prefer a little smoother texture, go ahead and crush them up a bit with the back of a stirring spoon, a potato masher, or whatever takes your fancy.

Now's the time to amp up the flavor.  Chop up some fresh basil, and add it to the sauce along with your white wine and that bacon you've been holding onto.  You didn't eat all the bacon, did you?  It's up to you what to do with the rest of the bottle of wine...I favor drinking it with the finished product.

Before long your sauce's flavors will really have melded.  Reduce it just a bit, then we'll add some starchy pasta water later to return some body.

In the meantime, it's time to grill some fish.  You can broil it or do it in a pan if you like, but I got a cast-iron grill-pan for my birthday (thanks, mom!) and it's fantastic.  All a great fish like trout needs is some salt and plenty of fresh black pepper.

While you're at it, cook your pasta, if you haven't already started.

2-3 minutes per side on the grill pan and it's beautifully done.  If you don't have a fish spatula, your trout may fall all to pieces as you remove it from the pan.  Do your best.  Really, it's perfectly tasty to just flake the fish over the pasta anyway, but sometimes it's nice to keep the pieces whole for the sake of presentation.

When your pasta is still al-dente, go ahead and mix it and a bit of pasta water into the sauce, and let it finish there for a couple of minutes.  It'll absorb a whole lot of flavor.

Now add that fish right on top.

And, if you're into that kind of thing, garnish with grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese and/or some more fresh Basil.  Serve immediately, and don't forget about that wine you opened.

Recipe: Trout Pasta Pomodoro

Prep Time: 5 Minutes | Cook Time: 30 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 6-8

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh Trout
• 2-3 oz Bacon, chopped
• 24 oz Cherry Tomatoes
• 1 Onion, diced
• 2-4 cloves Garlic, minced 
• 1/2 cup White Wine
• 16 oz Bowtie Pasta
• 4-6 leaves Fresh Basil
• Parmesan or Asiago Cheese to taste
• Salt and Pepper to taste 

Instructions

Cook Pasta to al-dente according to directions on box.

In a large saucepan or dutch oven, render chopped bacon over medium-high heat 3-4 minutes until cooked through.  Remove from pan and set aside.

Dice onion and mince garlic.  Remove stems from tomatoes.  All onion, garlic, and tomatoes to pan with bacon drippings and cook 3-5 minutes over medium-high heat until tomatoes pop their skins.

Crush tomatoes down if desired.  Add bacon, basil, and white wine to sauce and continue cooking 10-20 minutes until flavors are well melded.

Season trout lightly with salt and plenty of ground black pepper.  Cook 2-3 minutes per side on a heavy grill pan until fish flakes easily with a fork.  Set aside until serving.

When pasta is al-dente, add pasta and 1/2 cup pasta water to sauce and mix well.

Serve trout over pasta and sauce.  Garnish with cheese and/or additional basil to taste.