With a fresh salad from the garden, and mustard greens ready to saute, we came up with an absolutely delicious herbed and grilled chicken that we’re sure you’ll love too.

CITRUS AND HERB MARINATED GRILLED BONE-IN CHICKEN

What you need:
1 whole chicken cut up for grilling

2 large lemons and 2 large oranges zested and juiced

A good handful (or 2 if your hands are small!) of chopped mint, tarragon, basil

1/2 cup olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Mix the oil, balsamic vinegar, orange and lemon juice and herbs all together with a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of pepper. Add your chicken to the marinade, as well as the squeezed orange and lemons.

Let the chicken marinate for about 6 hours or so (overnight is great too!). About an hour before the you’re ready to start grilling, take the chicken from the refrigerator and let it come up to near room temperature (I know what you’re thinking, but it’s fine!).

When your grill is hot, place the chicken onto the grill. Turn only once during the cooking process, and cook until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees (remember to keep the thermometer away from the bone).

Easy and delicious!

With the chicken, we decided we wanted baked potatoes. Of course, we had to give them a little spin, and came up with Twice Baked Grilled Potatoes. Taking a little spin on the traditional “Twice Baked” idea, we just put them on the grill.

Baking Cycle 1 – Clean your potatoes (1 per person, usually). Poke a few holes in each potato and soak them in salted water for about a half-hour. Drain and dry your potatoes. Coat with olive oil and coarse salt.

Place the potatoes on your grill, but not over direct heat (we lit the outside two burners, and put our potatoes down the middle). About 20 minutes into the cooking time, give the potatoes a turn. The skins will start to get a bit papery, and you will be able to feel them “give” a little when you squeeze them. After another 15-20 minutes on the grill – remove your potatoes from the heat.

Let them cool for a few minutes, and when you can pick one up without hurting yourself, cut them in half lengthwise. They’ll probably be steaming hot inside, so let them cool for another couple minutes.

Scoop out the inside of the potato, so you’re left with a little boat of potato skin. Reserve the potato flesh in a bowl. Once they’re all scooped, mash your potatoes reserved in the bowl until they’re just chunky – you don’t want to blend them smooth, necessarily. For our 8 medium sized potatoes, we added 1/2 cup of sour cream, 1/2 stick of butter, 1/2 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese, and a tablespoon of chopped garlic, salt and pepper to taste. (This is where you can be creative! Add green onions, bacon, anything you like on a baked potato can go inside!)

Once the potato mixture is blended nicely, fill the emptied potato boats with the creamy potato mixture, and return them to the grill. Again, not directly over the heat. Give them about 10 minutes or so on the grill, until the cheese is melty and the inside of the potato is starting to bubble a bit.

We garnished ours with freshly blossomed garden chives and maple-cured bacon. Beautiful and delicious!

Last, but certainly not least, is simple and delicious fire-grilled corn on the cob. Start by removing the silks from your corn, and soaking the ears (husks and all!) in cool water. Let it soak for about an hour or so. Drop your ears of soaked corn onto the grill (still in husks) and let them roast for 10-15 minutes. They’ll steam in the husks and become incredibly sweet and delicious!

After grilling, remove the husks, and cut the cobs into 3-4 inch sections, and toss with melted butter and a combination of paprika, chili powder and cumin for an incredibly delicious sweet & spicy blend of flavors.

Write to us, and share your Memorial Day menu!

Growing up on the Jersey shore, Blue Claw Crabs were a big part of our summers and to actually catch the coveted soft shell crab; well that was the greatest triumph of all! Give a call or stop by Mutual Fish for a true taste of the East Coast!

Select crabs that are still alive and moving.

To clean:

With scissors, cut off the eye area, then lift the back shell on each side and remove gills.

To prepare:

Soak crabs in buttermilk seasoned liberally with hot sauce for about an hour.

remove crabs from milk and let drain, dredge thru all purpose flour that has been seasoned with Old Bay seasoning, fry crabs in canola oil until shell turns red and crispy
serve immediately on mixed greens as salad accompaniment or on a crispy roll with lettuce, tomato and tartar sauce (and for those of you new to the SSC world…….yes, you eat it shell and all!)

Photo of Nan and Pop Neuweiler, Uncle Eddie and Aunt Ginny and Uncle Rudolph on the dock of Oyster Creek Restaurant, Leeds Point, NJ 1973

p.s. the fresh squeezed orange juice with the balsamic is a wonderful flavor mix and can be used on chicken & fish as a marinade or a reduced sauce.

White Bean and Kale Salad

Large bunch of kale blanched al dente, squeeze excess water out by soft hand, then rough chop
1 lg can of northern white beans drained and rinsed
1 lg red pepper chopped
1/2 red onion chopped
pint of cherry tomatoes sliced in half
sliced green onions
salt and pepper to taste

Dress with balsamic vinegar, fresh squeezed oj, lime and chopped cilantro or balsamic vinegar, orange juice, lemon juice, and chopped italian (flat leaf) parsley.

p.p.s. After pulling out the remaining kale, Boe replaced it with golden and purple beets – Following the crop rotation mantra “Leaf, Root, Flower, Fruit”. More on that in later editions.

Buon Appetito!

Cinco De Mayo is this Saturday which for me brings to mind the start of Summer Foods, back yard entertaining, grilling, BBQ, margaritas and cervezas aplenty, and of course the Farmers Market (which starts Friday @ Union & MLK in the parking lot of the Grocery Outlet, here in the Central District of Seattle). Check out my simple and easy Cinco De Mayo Recipes and have your own Fiesta this Saturday. For a quick history click the link to this website: http://www.vivacincodemayo.org/history.htm

Classic Guacamole

Ingredients

4 ripe avocados, 2 limes, bunch cilantro, *whole roasted garlic (recipe will follow), 1/2 sweet onion (vidalia), 2 jalapenons or 1 lg poblano, s&p

Preparation

• to roast whole garlic bulb, cut off top so cloves are exposed, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper (can also add dried herbs to use with recipes at this point)

wrap in foil and bake in 350 preheated oven until tender – should be able to squeeze cloves out of there jacket. Add 3-4 cloves to lg mixing bowl and smash with fork.

• add onion (small dice), chopped jalapenos or pablo (seeds removed) and the 4 avocados.
• mash and mix by hand with potato masher, season with salt and pepper, juice of 1 lime and lg handful of chopped cilantro

At this point taste and adjust seasoning (lime, cilantro, s&p) if needed, can also add cumin, corriander, chili, or paprika. When in season, chopped and seeded tomatoes are always great to add or your favorite salsa or pico de gallo.

Refried Beans (The beans in the can are only a good start to fantastic refried beans!)

2 cans of vegeterian refried beans, 1/2 chopped onion, 1 chopped jalapeno, chopped garlic, cilantro, cotija cheese or sour cream

• heat saute pan, add olive oil, heat till oil is hot. add onion, chopped garlic, jalapeno and saute til tender
• add beans, stir and heat til smooth and creamy
• top with sour cream or cotija cheese and chopped cilantro

Chicken Fajitas
3-4 bonesless, skinless chicken breast cut in fajita strips, mix of sliced red, yellow, poblano peppers, sliced red onion, chopped garlic, cilantro, lime juice, chili powder, paprika, cumin, corriander, s&p, flour tortillas

• Marinate (3-4 hours) chix breast in fresh lime juice, dash red wine vinegar, olive oil (enough to coat chicken), cumin, corriander, paprika, chili powder, chopped garlic, salt and pepper
• Sear chicken on griddle or saute pan until barely pink in center then add peppers and onion mix and reseason with above spices, continue to saute till chicken is cooked thru and veggies are al dente. Adjust salt and pepper to your taste, add fresh lime juice and chopped cilantro. Serve with grilled flour tortillas, sour cream, guacamole and salsa!

Beef Fajitas
Use Skirt steak or London Broil with the chicken fajita recipe

Chili Rubbed Flank Steak Salad

Start with a 2-3 pound flank steak, rub with paprika, chili powder, crushed red pepper, cumin, dried oregano, dried thyme, salt and pepper. Let meat sit for about an hour at room temp. Preheat gas grill or charcoal, grill steak until it reaches an internal temp of 130 degrees.

Remove from grill and let rest wrapped in foil at least 10 minutes. Slice thin across the grain of the meat at a diagonal. Serve on a bed of mixed salad greens dressed with olive oil and balsamic. Squeeze fresh lemon on steak and adjust salt and pepper if needed. Add a good quality blue cheese and chopped green onions for an explosion of wonderful flavors!

Buena suerte en la cocina y Feliz’ Cinco de Mayo!

-Chef Brenda Lee

Here’s the recipe – I’m sure you’ll enjoy it too!
What you’ll need!

2 leeks cut length wise (white part only). Rinse well, as bits of sand tend to accumulate in leeks as they grow. Slice the leeks into thin “half coin” shapes, crush and chop 3 cloves of garlic, chop a handful of fresh chervil (if you don’t have chervil, a small handful of cilantro would be great too!), chop a small bunch of chives, zest two lemons, chop 1 bunch of Italian parsley, and prepare 1 cup frozen peas (rinse under water to remove ice crystals) or blanch 1 cup of fresh peas (never canned!). You’ll also need some heavy cream, the arborio rice (risotto!), a good white wine that you would drink, chicken or veggie stock (fresh made stock is always better, but Swanson’s low-sodium version is a good alternative).

Process

Heat a large pot, add a couple tablespoons of olive oil and pat of butter. In a separate saucepan, start to warm your stock over a low simmer. Don’t bring it to a boil, you just want a low heat. When the oil and butter mixture is hot, add your leeks and garlic, a good pinch of salt and start to sweat your leeks. When leeks are wilted and start to look transparent, add 2 cups of the arborio rice, stir and coat with the oil. Continue to stir until the rice starts to get a bit translucent, with only a bit of visible white. At this point, they will start to sound a bit like glass beads tinkling around in the pan.

The Risotto Nearing Ready!

De-glaze your pan with a cup of the white wine, and stir the rice and vegetable mixture. lower your heat and start to slowly add warmed stock a ladle at a time while continuing to stir. When the stock has absorbed into the rice, add another ladle of stock. Continue this process until the risotto is creamy and al dente.

Add your peas, chervil, about a 1/4 cup heavy cream and 1 cup of Parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with a fresh gremolata of chopped parley, zest of two lemons, a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper. Serves 4 to 6 people.

Got leftover risotto? The next day, you can make magnificent risotto cakes – keep an eye out for an article about that one in the coming days!

Clean and slice 2 leeks (half coin). Add olive oil to a heated sauté pan. Once the olive oil shimmers (a sign that it’s ready), add the leeks. Add salt and pepper, and sauté till the leeks start to caramelize. Add chopped garlic and/or shallots. Add 2 bunches of cleaned chiffonade chards, stems removed. Pan should sizzle, cook till wilted but still al dente. Deglaze with balsamic and a squeeze of lemon. Add a large pat of butter, and adjust seasoning to taste.
~ enjoy!