I have been transferred with my job to a new city. I am still going to be living away from home, but will be about 150 miles closer to my family. Eventually, I will get an apartment in this city and thus be able to grill again. For the next 6-8 weeks though, I am in temporary housing without an opportunity to fire up the grill.
I look forward to being able to grill again and am hopeful you will check back to read future posts.
It seems like nearly every evening around dinner time it has been raining lately. It has been so dry lately, so I know we really needed the rain, but torrential down pours right at dinner time made it difficult to grill. I only was able to fire up the grill two nights last week. One night I just made grilled Italian sausage and corn on the cob. The other night I grilled a steak and some asparagus to go along with it. I picked up a sirloin steak and some fresh asparagus at the grocery store on my way home from work. I rubbed the steak with salt, pepper chili powder and crushed red pepper. I threaded the asparagus on two skewers and brushed with olive oil and salt and pepper.
Steak ready for the grill
Asparagus brushed with olive oil
I grilled the steak to medium rare and the asparagus for about 4 minutes on each side.
Steak and asparagus on the grill
This turned out to be a very good and very easy meal. It was made better by the cold Guinness that I had with it.
I am hopeful that we have a little bit drier weather in the coming week, at least around dinner time, so I can try some new things on the grill.
Grilled Steak and Asparagus
I finally got back on the grill after a hiatus of several weeks, and I could not be happier with the result of my efforts. My wife does not like fish, so I never grill it when I am home. Since my job has taken me 500 miles away from home where I live in an apartment by myself however, I can grill fish or whatever else I want to since I have no one to please but me. This is of course very small consolation for having to spend so much time away from my family, but I’ll take it. Monday night I decided to make cedar plank grilled salmon.
I purchased a nice piece of salmon from the fresh seafood counter at the grocery store. I also got a package of cedar grilling planks. Per the instructions, I soaked a plank in water for about an hour. Before taking the cedar plank out of the water, I started the grill with just a small amount of charcoal, all pushed to one side of the grill so it would not get too hot and so I could grill over indirect heat. I then started preparing the salmon while the grill was heating.
Cedar plank with sliced oranges
After soaking the plank, I placed two slices of an orange on it. Next I put the piece of salmon on top of the orange slices.
Salmon on cedar plank
Next, I brushed the salmon with Kikkoman Teriyaki Glaze. Finally, I topped it with sesame seeds and some chopped green onion.
Teriyaki glazed salmon, ready for the grill
I placed the cedar plank on the grill over indirect heat. I let the salmon stay on the grill for about 25 minutes.
Grilled Salmon
The result was fantastic. The grilled salmon was moist and extremely flavorful thanks to the oranges and teriyaki glaze. The cedar plank imparted a nice flavor to the grilled salmon as well.
Grilled salmon with teriyaki glaze
This really was a fantastic dinner that was easy to make and required no special adjustments to downsize it for just one person. And since I have several cedar planks left, I am looking forward to making grilled salmon again soon.
I have not posted anything new in a while, but I am back to grilling and ready to post again. I have been out of town for several weeks and in between I moved to a new apartment in the town I am working in. I also took some vacation time which allowed me to go back home to my family.
I have salmon on the grill right now and will post about it later.
More to come…
I just finished eating a Grilled Mexican Naan Pizza that I made for dinner. It was so good, I decided to write about it right away.
This was extremely easy to make and tasted delicious. The ingredients are as follows:
1 package of Indian naan bread
Bean dip (I used Desert Pepper Brand Black Bean Dip)
1 smoked chorizo link
Mozzarella cheese
Fresh cilantro
Naan Bread
Black Bean Dip
The naan came in a package of two, so I used one and froze the other to be eaten at a later date. I was able to buy a single link of chorizo at the butcher counter. The chorizo was already fully cooked, but I put it on the grill for about six minutes. Next, I placed the naan on the grill for about two minutes. I did this because I prefer a crispy crust, but for a softer crust skip this step.
While the naan was on the grill, I sliced the chorizo. Then I took the naan off the grill and spread the bean dip on one side. Then I placed the sliced sausage on the naan. Next I sprinkled some chopped fresh cilantro and the mozzarella cheese.
Naan Pizza Before Grilling
I then placed the naan pizza on the grill for about three minutes.
The result was really good. The bean dip and chorizo were both spicy, and the naan made for a great pizza crust. The size of the naan pizza was perfect for a dinner for one. I am already looking forward to using the second piece of flatbread to make another naan pizza in the near future. i just need to decide what toppings to use.
Grilled Mexican Naan Pizza
I actually first made these grilled pork souvlaki skewers about five weeks ago, but never posted about it. These were very good, so I wanted to share the recipe. Rather than rely on my admittedly poor memory, I figured I should make them again. The decision to make them again was made easier by the fact that I received a $5 off coupon for pork chops from Bzzagent.com. Bzzagent is conducting a campaign for the National Pork Board and I was lucky enough to be selected to participate. Pork is one of my favorite meats to grill, so without a doubt I would have made these pork souvlaki skewers again at some point, but the coupon and the chance to tell folks about it made it happen sooner.
I originally found this recipe on marthastewart.com. Instead of a one pound pork shoulder, which would have been way too much for me, I bought a couple of thick cut boneless pork chops and froze one to be used at a later date. I used wooden skewers, and if you decide to do the same I recommend soaking them in water for a few hours to prevent them from burning. This is easy to do while the pork is marinating.
After cutting up the pork chop into cubes, I marinated them for about three hours in the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, oregano, salt and pepper. I used a little more garlic than the recipe calls for, mainly because I like garlic and I am by myself so I won’t offend anyone with garlic breath. I then threaded the cubes onto the skewers and grilled for a little less then 10 minutes. While they were grilling, I made the sauce which was really easy. It consisted of Greek yogurt, lemon juice, and water.
The pork souvlaki turned out great. The primary flavors were lemon and garlic . The pork was moist and delicious. I had this over rice, and have no doubt I will be making it for a third time sometime soon.
