Grilled Halibut and Lemon-Dill Quinoa

So...it has been a VERY long time since I last posted anything on my blog, so my apologies. My schedule was very busy and I never had enough time to cook. I have also been away on a trip to Victoria, BC, visiting my best friend and some pals. Since Victoria is an island on the west coast of Canada, seafood is a must in local cookery. On the day I headed back, I dropped by Fisherman's Wharf and purchased some fresh crab, halibut, and smoked tuna for the flight home. As soon as I got home, I boiled the crab and served it to my family with a salt n' pepper with lime dip, which they LOVED. Mom said that the crab was delicious and coming from someone who does not enjoy crab, that means a lot.
For the halibut, I sliced it up into three portions and marinated it in a soy and sesame mixture. I grilled the slices on a hot griddle. I cooked up some quinoa and tossed it in some lemon juice, olive oil and chopped dill.  I drizzled a sweet soy and red vinegar reduction on the dish before serving it with some local Pinot Gris from the Vancouver Islands. Yummeh! :)

 

Montreal Steak with Dirty Mash and Bleu Cheese Salad

Finally got around to cooking a decent meal for my brother and dad since I got back from Vietnam. I've been gone for two weeks for a family issue and my brother and dad stayed at home...from what I heard, they haven't been eating very good meals, which makes me sad!
So, after school (technically a midterm), I went grocery shopping for some ingredients. My dad lovesss steak, so that was what I planned to make. Everything took me an hour to prepare and cook. Hooraay for rush hour cooking! :)
So, some cuts of top sirloin steak, dry-rubbed with Montreal steak spice and pan-grilled to medium-rare perfection. I allowed the steaks to rest 10-15 minutes before serving, and used the au jus as a sauce for the dish. Served with dirty garlic mashed potatoes (dirty as in I left the peel on the potats) and a side of fresh and crisp romaine lettuce, cucumbers and grape tomatoes tossed in a tangy Bleu Cheese vinagrette with extra crumbled bleu cheese; the salad was served in a very cold bowl to keep it fresh.
Brother and dad enjoyed it very much...I've never seen Tommy eat that much meat before, especially beef; just goes to show how much he missed his sister's cooking hahaha!

 

Raspberry Chipotle Flat Chicken

Hello all! I have been away to Montana since the last time I posted and I haven't had time to cook or bake since I got back. My dwelling is undergoing major renovations and that also includes a re-installment of cabinets and the counter top in our kitchen including refinishing and repainting walls and tiles. Before completely demolishing our kitchen, I made this dish using a sauce I bought in Helena, Montana. It's a "Roasted Raspberry and Chipotle Sauce," and though the idea of a fruit and spices usually does not mix well for me, this sauce had me go head-over-heels. I found this beauty at the local Costco Warehouse, sampled on a thin whole grain cracker with brie cheese. I basically melted along with the soft cheese as soon as the morsel was in my mouth. Tangy-sweet with a bit of savoriness from the cheese and cracker, it was a divine bite. What was even more incredible was the little kick of spiciness that rocked all the flavors together. It was f****ing delicious. Back at home with my prized bottle of the sauce, I couldn't wait to try it on the suggested meats (poultry, pork, salmon) and appetizer suggestions.
This chicken dish is the first time I have used the sauce since I bought it and I loved the color it gave the roasted chicken (as my family gobbled up almost all the bird). I decided to flatten (butterfly) the chicken so that it would be seasoned better, cooked faster and carved better.  To flatten a chicken, all you do is remove the spine and the breast bone (keel bone) so that you can flatten the bird out and have less bones to worry with when carving. When you season, the spices you use will be better penetrated into the meat so that your bird will be seasoned all over rather than just on the skin. Here's a great instructional video with how to butterfly a chicken.

I dry rubbed my chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder (around 1-2 tsp of each) and roasted it at 200-250 degrees Celsius for about 45 minutes in my glass conventional oven* until the skin was semi-golden brown. I then brushed the bird with 2 tbsp of the Raspberry Chipotle and let it roasted for another 5 minutes until the sauce melted right into the chicken and the skin was glossy and golden. I let the bird rest for 15 minutes before carving so that the meat would retain heat and not dry out. I served the chicken with brown rice, pea tips sauteed in garlic and baked zucchini rounds. Our "last supper" before our kitchen's doomsday.

*butterfly chicken is awesome on the BBQ too so go ahead and preheat your grill to medium-high heat and grill the bird to your liking!

(Mock) BBQ Day 4

It was gloomy, cold and rainy today so I couldn't work the grill outside, so instead, I used my non-stick iron grill/skillet over a portable gas burner to make these succulent and awesome Aloha Pork Chops, once again, from my Kraft Canada magazine. I served these juicy chops with Vegetable Saffron Quinoa and Roasted Asparagus with Portabella. Yum Yum Yum!
The quinoa was just something I quickly threw together in my rice cooker, adding a cup of frozen mixed vegetables, the required amount of water (I used veggie stock 'cause I'm awesome), a pinch of saffron and salt and pepper to taste. I left that cooking in the rice cooker and kept it warm until ready to serve.
As for the asparagus, I was inspired by Chef John's recipe on Foodwishes via Youtube. The recipe is very straight forward and instead of the prosciutto, I used one chopped portabella mushroom. This dish is a must, it's soooo refreshing and delicious!
As for Evil Dr. Pork Chop (ahaha, I grew up with Toy Story...), instead of the Kraft BBQ sauce, I used Bull's Eye Original Bold and I added 2 tsp of Asian Five-Spice and 1 tsp of red chili hot sauce to kick the barbecue sauce an extra notch. My chops were not boneless as the recipe stated, I used bone-in since I think it adds more to the juiciness of the pork (Tip: Score the fat along the pork so that the meat doesn't curl when it's being grilled). Before cooking the chops, I lightly seasoned both sides with trusty salt n' pepper. I made sure my skillet was very hot before placing in the meat, and that delightedly sizzle was music to my ears. It's a very interesting recipe to try since it's a great twist on the ol' sweet and sour pork and the grilled pineapple adds a great touch to the boldness of the pork!

BBQ Day 2 (because I forgot to take photos for Day 1)

My Portabella Burger Deluxe

Summer is finally here, where I live, and what I love more than cooking for the family is grilling for the family. My dad use to always work the grill but I have insisted on taking over because I am a food-nerd and I like to experiment with my food. The first day we started barbecuing, we had steak marinated in a sesame and soy sauce dressing, jumbo prawns in a spicy garlic marinade, grilled corn on the cob with peppered butter, mushrooms and whole mini zucchinis with garlic butter and a Caesar salad. I forgot to take photos, so you will have to imagine what the meal looked like lol.

Today, we chose to have burgers and being the foodie I am, I insisted (I do a lot of "insisting" lol) on making our own burger patties (so that I could customize lol). My gourmet burgers consisted of lean ground beef, chopped mushrooms, chopped onions and cooked, quinoa. I mixed it all up with some salt and pepper, two eggs and I added a splash of BBQ sauce. Patted them into patties, and placed in the fridge until ready to grill.
Other accompaniments included whole eggplants-skewered, sliced zucchinis-skewered, button mushrooms, halved-skewered, and a zesty, fresh Thai slaw, not skewered (recipe courtesy of Kraft Magazine). I added 2 tsp sesame oil and 2 tsp chili sauce to the dressing mix for an extra kick while substituting roasted peanuts for the cashews because I didn't have any on hand. It was awesome!
For the veggie freak (me), I grilled up a portabello mushroom cap with bbq sauce to make myself a deluxe veggie burger with Swiss cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, and Miracle Whip. Yum, yum, yum!!
Can't wait for the next time to grill! I seriously need one of those cheeky BBQ aprons lol.

Fresh Vegetables for the WIN.

Patties and some kebabs on the grill

ME!

  

Patties made with mushrooms, onions, quinoa and lean beef ground.

Burger toppings and condiments.

Thai Slaw

  

My mom and fresh fruit