Both of my parents were born in Hungary, and, lucky for me, my Mom still loves to make Hungarian dishes. Stuffed Cabbage is a family favorite, especially in the colder months, and I’ve adapted my Mom’s recipe a little bit over time. If you decide to make the dish, be sure to set aside enough time (1-2 hours for prep, 4 hours or longer for cooking time). This is a great leftover meal, as it tastes better when reheated.

Paprika is a key ingredient in Hungarian cooking, so when using it, take the time to look for a good quality Paprika, preferably Hungarian. Hungarian Paprika is a little spicier than Spanish Paprika, and provides a wonderful color as well as needed flavor to the dish. Our local supermarket carries Hungarian Paprika in the spice aisle (Pride of Szeged Hungarian Paprika), and we buy a lot of our spices from Penzey’s - they have several varieties of Paprika, but I prefer to use the Hungarian Sweet.
Ingredients:

• 1 large or 2 medium Green Cabbages
• 1 1/2 pounds Ground Beef
• 1 pound Ground Pork
• 1/4 cup non-instant Rice
• 1/4 pound Bacon, diced
• 1 medium sweet Onion, diced
• 3 tablespoons Flour
• 1 bag of fresh or one large can Sauerkraut
• 1 Green Pepper, diced
• 1Tomato, diced
• 4 tablespoons good quality Paprika, preferably Hungarian
• Kosher Salt
• Ground Black Pepper
• Sour Cream for garnish, if desired

Core cabbage(s). Bring enough water to a boil so that the entire cabbage will be emersed. Boil cabbage (one at a time if using two) for approximately 5 minutes or until leaves are starting to pull away from core. Remove from water and let cool. Once cooled off, carefully remove green leaves until you reach the tougher white leaves. Do not use the white ones for rolling as they are difficult to fold, but roughly chop a few of them to add to the stock pot.

Parboil rice for 10 minutes. While the rice is cooking, combine ground beef, pork, 3 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper in a bowl; mix well to incorporate salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, brown bacon in medium to large stock pot. Remove bacon and half of the grease that was rendered (discard grease). Add onions to remaining bacon grease and cook until translucent. Remove half of the onion mixture and add it along with the rice to the meat mixture; stir to incorporate the onions and rice. Add the flour to the remaining onion mixture in the stock pot and stir for a couple of minutes; this will help eliminate the flour flavor, but help to thicken the base. Add paprika and four cups of water. Stir and bring to a soft boil.

Rinse the sauerkraut in a strainer. Add the diced green pepper and tomato and gently toss to incorporate them together.

On a cutting board, trim off the tough stems of each cabbage leaf as shown in the picture below; this will make the rolling easier.

Put about a tablespoon (depending on the size of the leaf) of the filling into each leaf, and fold bottom to the middle, then each side into the middle, then roll leaf (will resemble an egg roll, as pictured below).

To assemble, put some of the leftover cut-up cabbage leaves into the bottom of the stock pot, then add a little of the sauerkraut mixture. Lightly salt and pepper contents in the pot.

Next, place cabbage rolls in a circle, and fill in gaps with the meatballs. Cover with more cut up cabbage leaves and another layer of the sauerkraut mixture. Lightly salt and pepper again. Continue until you are out of cabbage rolls and meatballs. Finish off with the sauerkraut mixture on top. Add enough water to barely cover mixture.

Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer/soft boil for at least 4 hours, as you are cooking raw pork. The longer you let it cook, the more flavor you will get out of the dish. Oftentimes, this dish is served with a dollup of sour cream. Enjoy!

We normally make this soup the day after Thanksgiving, but with turkey and turkey stock. It uses the leftover Wild Rice Casserole which we make extra of just so we can have this soup! The wine (Marco Negri) that is used in this soup is a sweeter white wine. My cousin gave us this wine as a gift about 7 years ago and I am completely puzzled as to how it survived as long as it did without us drinking it.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups Chicken Stock, see Recipe
• 3 cups Wild Rice Casserole, see Recipe
• 2 cups diced, cooked Chicken, see Recipe
• 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt , or to taste
• 1 cup White Wine + 1/4 cup
• 1 1/2 cups Heavy Cream
• 1 medium Onion, diced
• 3 stalks of Celery, diced
• 2 Carrots, diced
• 1 clove of Garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon Olive oil

Saute onions, celery, carrots and garlic for 10 minutes over low heat with the olive oil until onions are translucent, not browned.

Add 1 cup of the wine along with the chicken to the pan along with the veggies, and turn the heat up to medium high. Let the alcohol and liquid evaporate for about 5 minutes.

Add the chicken stock, cream, salt and Wild Rice Casserole. Simmer over medium low for 20 minutes.

At the end of the cooking process, if you would like a little more of a pronounced wine flavor add in an extra 1/4 cup of wine.

Chicken stock is a great substitute whenever using water to add flavor. Whether we are making soup or rice, we always like to have homemade chicken stock in the house; you can make extra and put it in the freezer for later use.

Ingredients:

• Whole Fryer Chicken, cut up
• Ends of four Celery Stalks
• Ends of four Carrots
• Onion, quartered
• Bay Leaf
• Water

Note: We usually cut up the remainder of the celery, carrots and another onion to set aside for later use (chicken soup, etc.).

Lightly salt and pepper chicken and cook it in a 350 degree oven for approximately one hour or until done. Let cool, discard skin and remove chicken from bones for later use.

Add bones, celery, carrots, onion, bay leaf and water (as much as you want, at least enough to cover all ingredients) to stock pot - note that the size of the stock pot all depends on how much stock you want to make. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, but hot enough to have a very low boil. Heat stock for at least two hours - the longer you have it on the heat, the more flavorful your stock will be. Strain the stock and refrigerate, as the fat will naturally rise to the top and you can skim it off for a very low-fat, healthy stock.

For freezing, we put the stock in ice cube trays until it is set, then seal it.

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Up next: A soup that uses the left overs of this great casserole.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Wild Rice
• 2 Cups Heavy Cream
• 1 8 ounce container of Mushrooms (washed and quartered)
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon Ground Celery Seed
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt or to taste.

Boil the wild rice in salted water for 45 - 60 minutes. You should cook the rice in excess water like boiling pasta; you don’t need to measure the water like you would normal rice. The rice will be done when most of the kernels split open.

Drain and mix the cooked rice with the rest of the ingredients and put in a buttered casserole dish, salt to taste. Note that if you are planning ahead you can refrigerate this overnight.

Bake for 45 - 60 minutes at 350 degrees

I first learned to make this bad boy at a little neighborhood pizza joint in Minneapolis called Casalenda’s. It was one of those things that was not on the menu, but if you were knew what to ask for, you just might get one. It makes for a great appetizer when sliced thin or a fantastic sandwich when cut into larger pieces. You can use any variation of meats and cheeses that you like. I like to serve a tomato-based sauce on the side like our Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce.

Ingredients:

• Pizza Dough, See recipe here (I used half of this dough recipe)
• 1 egg, for egg wash
• Cheese - I am using Buffalo Mozzarella, Parmesan and Cheddar Cheese .
• Thin sliced meats - I am using Pancetta, Salami, Ham and Coppa.
• Butter
• Garlic Powder
• Poppy Seeds

Roll the dough out flat in the shape of a large rectangle. Brush with a thin layer of melted butter and lightly sprinkle the garlic powder on it. Lay the meats and cheeses over the entire dough in one thin layer. In the picture below, I will be rolling from left to right so I kept the cheeses mostly to the left so they will be in the center; this helps prevent the cheese from spewing out in the middle of baking.

Gently roll the dough up and tuck in each side underneath itself.

Place the Stromboli on a baking sheet seam side down. Brush with an egg wash and sprinkle poppy seeds on it. Cut a few slits across it and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Being married to a former pizza place cook isn’t easy…my husband is a pizza snob. Needless to say, we have tried just about all of the pizza places here and none have met Andy’s approval. We started to buy frozen dough from a really good bread store in order to make our own pizza (then we could blame ourselves if it wasn’t good). However, the store is not in town, and I don’t get up that way too often, so it became an inconvenience. One day I picked up the book The Bread Bible and in it, among the 600+ pages, was a recipe for homemade pizza dough. I made the recipe (only a single serving), and it was good, and over time have just added one ingredient (olive oil) and quadrupled the recipe (we use half and freeze the rest). This really couldn’t be easier, and, if you are like us, you won’t want to buy frozen or delivery pizza ever again - this tastes better and is a lot less expensive!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups plus 4 tablespoons Unbleached Flour
• 2 teaspoons Sugar
• 1 package Active Dry Yeast
• 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
• 1 1/3 cups lukewarm Water
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive oil

Combine the flour, sugar and yeast and stir. Add the salt right before you are ready to add the water, as salt can kill the yeast. Make a well, and pour the water and one tablespoon olive oil into the well.

Stir with a wooden spoon until the dry ingredients and wet ingredients are fully incorporated together (I start with the wooden spoon and then use my hands). Form into a ball and put the other tablespoon of olive oil into the bottom of the bowl. Rub the oil on the entire ball of dough, place back into bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

If you are using the dough within four hours, let sit out to rise. Otherwise, put it into the refrigerator. Once you are ready to use it, preheat the oven to 450 degrees, separate the dough that you need, and work the dough back into another ball and let it sit covered for 15 minutes to allow it to rise again.

Liberally flour work surface and roll out dough into desired shape/thickness. Add sauce and toppings, bake and enjoy!

Ingredients

• 4 - 6 Chicken Thighs
• Lime wedges to garnish
• Chopped, roasted peanuts to garnish
• Rice Stick Noodles

For the sauce:

• 1/2 cup natural Peanut Butter
• 4 tablespoons Tamari Soy Sauce
• 2 tablespoons Honey
• 2 tablespoons Sriracha Chili Paste
• 4 finely minced Serrano Peppers
• 4 tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar
• 6 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive oil

Mix all of the ingredients for the sauce and blend thoroughly until smooth.

Marinate the chicken with half of the marinade and set the other half aside to be used later. Marinate for 30 - 60 minutes.

While the grill is pre-heating, cook the rice stick noodles as directed on the package. They will be just fine if the noodles are cold or room temperature when the chicken is ready. Grill the chicken over medium heat until done.

Serve the chicken over the rice noodles and spoon some of the reserved sauce over the top. Garnish with the peanuts and lime wedges.

One of the things I love about fall is making spring rolls. We fry them out in the garage to avoid the greasy, smelly mess they can leave in their wake. Here in Wisconsin, it is too hot and humid in the summer and way too cold in the winter, so we stock up in the fall and spring and make them by the boatload. When I first started making these, I was very confused. Are they made with raw pork? What is with the wrappers–are they rice paper wrappers? What kind of noodles do I need in them? How do I deal with Asian ingredients, when the directions are not in English? I consulted various websites, but unfortunately today none of the links work anymore. What you will find here is a combination of some of those recipes with my own ideas, tricks and tweaks to create the ultimate spring roll guide. Well, maybe ultimate is going a little too far, but I hope to take some of the confusion and disasters away that I faced when beginning to make them.

Tips:

1. If you are making the full 150 that this recipe calls for, try and spread the tasks out across 2 days. Do the shopping and sauces one day and the rolling and frying the next day. The frying alone takes 3.5 hours. This ends up being an all day event so make sure you have the time and try to con your friends and family into helping you.
2. It is very important to make sure that all of the ingredients get evenly mixed. Instead of mixing everything together at the same time, I have found that it is better to slowly incorporate each ingredient into the mixture.
3. Do not roll the spring rolls too far in advance. If the wrappers get too moist, they will not fry properly and start to break open and brown too quickly. The salt will start to draw out moisture from the filling and make the wrappers too soggy to work with.
4. These freeze and reheat wonderfully if done correctly. See tips for freezing at the end.

Makes approximately 150 Spring Rolls

Ingredients:

• 14 ounces Bean Thread Noodles
• 150 frozen Spring Roll Wrappers
• Dried Shitake Mushrooms
• Dried Wood Ear Mushrooms or Black Fungus Mushrooms
• 2 pounds Shallots
• 5 pounds Carrots
• 5 pounds raw Ground Pork
• 4 cups Cilantro (2 cups chopped and packed)
• 8 teaspoons Soy Sauce
• 8 teaspoons Kosher Salt
• 3 teaspoons fresh Cracked Black Pepper
• Corn Starch
• Peanut Oil for frying

A few Notes on some of the ingredients:

• Wrappers: Make sure that you use the frozen spring roll wrappers, not the thicker wonton / egg roll style wrappers. I have used Banh Trang (rice paper), but they do not fry up as well and turn out much more greasy. These frozen spring roll wrappers are light and flaky and have a pastry-like quality.
• Noodles: I have made these spring rolls with both rice vermicelli and bean thread noodles (they are also called bean vermicelli, cellophane noodles or glass noodles). I prefer the transparent bean thread noodles.
• Dried Mushrooms: Scared of something called dried black fungus? Awww… it’s okay, they won’t bite! They are actually quite mild in flavor. With the small amount called for in this recipe along with chopping them up very fine, you won’t even know they are there. They do add a nice flavor to the spring roll so I recommend you at least try them this way.
• Oil for frying: I prefer to use peanut oil. I find that the spring rolls come out very crispy and not oily. Peanut oil also has a very neutral flavor so you do not taste the oil.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and let the mushrooms soak off of the heat for 30 minutes. I used about 1/2 of each of the 2.5 ounce bags shown above.

While the mushrooms are re-hydrating, peel and grate the carrots, and finely mince the shallots.

For the noodles, bring a pot of water to a boil and soak the noodles off of the heat also, but only for 3 - 5 minutes or until done. Rinse them under cold water so they are completely cooled off, and let them drain for about 5 minutes — do not let them clump together. Drain and finely mince the mushrooms.

Throughout this mixing step, slowly add 3 teaspoons of fresh cracked pepper, 6 teaspoons of soy sauce and 6 teaspoons of kosher salt. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the shallots, carrots, cilantro and 1 and 1/2 cups of the mushrooms together. When the veggies have been mixed together, roughly chop the noodles and work them into the mixture.

Combine the pork with 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and 1 teaspoon of fresh cracked black pepper.

Throughly combine the meat and veggie mixture.

On to the wrapping. Remember how I mentioned that you need to con family and friends into helping? Well, the wrapping is done by Kris, so she’ll take over the instructions for it.

Make sure that you have thawed out the spring roll wrappers 30 minutes prior to use. I also pull each one apart to make for quicker wrapping. Once you are ready to begin, mix together corn starch with water in a bowl (I don’t really measure, just dump a little corn starch into the bowl and add water and stir). The corn starch will be your glue. Have the meat and veggie mixture in front of you. Put a wrapper onto your work surface, and place about a tablespoon of the meat and veggie mixture onto the wrapper as shown below. Fold the bottom over the mixture, and then put the corn starch mixture all along the remaining three edges (I find it easiest to use my fingers - much quicker than using a spoon). Fold over each side, then roll the wrapper up.

Before you get busy with rolling and frying, STOP! Do a test run of 2 or 3 rolls. Make sure they get thoroughly cooked at your planned time and temperature. I normally fry 5 rolls for 7 minutes at 375 degrees, but you may need to adjust this. You also need to make sure that the seasoning is correct and adjust it accordingly as needed. This is important! Don’t go making 150 under-seasoned and undercooked spring rolls!

A couple of sauces to serve this with:

• Spicy Sweet and Soy Dipping Sauce
• Sweet and Sour Sauce

Tips for freezing and reheating:

1. When the spring rolls have cooled off to room temperature, lay them out, one layer deep on a sheet pan and freeze them for 3 - 24 hours.
2. When they are completely frozen solid, seal them with a vacuum food sealer. By sealing them frozen, we avoid squishing and crushing them.
3. You can place them completely frozen in an non-preheated oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees or thawed in a preheated oven for 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees.

This is a really great dipping sauce for spring rolls and it also makes a fantastic marinade for grilled meats. I have found that it is best to make it a day ahead of time. Keep it in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake periodically to help the flavors come together.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Sweet and Sour Sauce
• 2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
• 2 hot Chili Peppers

Finely mince the chili peppers.

Mix all of the ingredients together.

Unlike most sweet and sour sauces, this one is not red and thick. I see no reason to add red food coloring or make it gloppy and thick. The basic recipe can be done in any amount as it is just equal parts water to vinegar and equal parts liquid to sugar.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1 cup Water
• 2 cups Sugar
• 6 cloves of Garlic, minced
• Shredded Carrot, for garnish

Bring everything to a hard boil except the carrot. Boil for 3- 5 minutes. The longer it rapidly boils, the thicker the sauce will be.

Let cool for at least 2 hours before serving and garnish with the carrots. It should set up a little bit thicker when cooled and the bits of garlic will float in the middle.

I am still amazed at the wonderful treasures we can find at our Farmer’s Market! Today, we scored a pint of the elusive ground cherry. What are those I asked? The vendor gave us a sample and went on to explain that it was something that her grandfather had always grown on the farm. These sweet little packages look like tiny tomatillos, but when the papery husk comes off they are yellow when ripe and are not sticky to the touch like a tomatillo is. The texture is like a small cherry tomato, but the taste is sweet and complex with hints of melon, tomato and strawberry. We kept on eating them trying to put a finger on what they reminded us of, and before we knew it we had burned though half of our stash. The vendor told us that they had used them in pies and jams, but I wanted to capture this unique flavor without cooking them.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pint of Ground Cherries, each one halved
• 1/4 Red Onion, diced
• 1/4 jalapeno, diced
• Cilantro, chopped
• Red Bell Pepper, diced
• Very *small* squeeze Lime Juice
• Roughly a teaspoon or two Extra Virgin Olive oil
• Very *small* pinch Salt

Mix everything together and let sit for 30 minutes so the flavors can come together. Do not overdue it with the salt or lime; the small amount of salt is only needed to draw out liquid from the cherries so they can macerate with the olive oil and lime juice.

The first time I had coffee like this was in a little Vietnamese restaurant off the beaten path. Not knowing exactly what I had ordered, I was surprised when they brought me a glass with an odd looking tin contraption dripping really strong, bitter, chicory coffee into an unknown white substance which I later learned was sweetened condensed milk. I stared at this in awe as the coffee dripped right on top of the milk keeping its own layer. When the dripping subsided, the waitress came over knowing I was a little confused and mixed the coffee and milk together and poured it over a glass of ice. This creamy, caffeinated drink was pure joy! I don’t have one of these little coffee presses but you really don’t need one.

Ingredients:

• 1 14 oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 10-12 cups good strong Coffee
• 1 whole Vanilla Bean, split and scraped, or a couple drops of vanilla extract
• Ice

While the coffee is still hot mix in the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla in a large pitcher and refrigerate. When the coffee has cooled down serve over ice.

This is a very simple yet tasty thing to make. The combination of sweet, salty and spicy really works well together.
Ingredients

• Prosciutto
• Mango
• jalapenos
• Provolone Cheese

Carefully lay out a slice of prosciutto without ripping or tearing it. Put some provolone, mango and a couple of jalapeno slices at the end of the prosciutto and roll it up tight. If your prosciutto is long enough, you may be able to get two rolled out of one slice.

They may seem a little fragile now, but when they get on the grill the cheese will start to melt and hold them together well. Grill each side for 3 - 5 minutes.

We have been making this potato salad for about 4 years and it is very good. I like to use a combination of purple and red potatoes for a nicer presentation. Purple potatoes are slowly becoming more popular here, as they are showing up in our grocery store every so often, and they are even at our local Farmer’s Market. Be careful when cooking purple potatoes, as they are not as forgiving as red potatoes and can turn mushy very quickly if overcooked.

Ingredients:

• 12 - 14 Potatoes, combination of red and purple
• 1/2 Red Onion, thinly sliced
• Cilantro leaves, roughly torn
• Toasted, salted Pine Nuts, for garnish

For the Dressing:

• 1/2 cup Mexican Table Cream (Crema Mexicana)
• 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive oil
• Juice of one Lime
• 3/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 tablespoon Honey
• 1/2 cup finely chopped Cilantro

Boil the potatoes for 15 - 20 minutes in salted water or until fork tender, and let them cool. Be sure to check the purple potatoes sooner as they cook quicker. I like to boil them whole with the skins on as I find they get less waterlogged. Also, I bring the water up to a boil with the potatoes in the pot to make sure they cook evenly.

Mix the dressing ingredients together.

You can leave the potato skins on or off; personally, I like to take them off. It is fairly easy to just peel them off now that they have been cooked. When the potatoes have cooled down, cut them in approximately 1 inch cubes (or whatever size you like) and carefully mix them with the dressing, onions, and the roughly chopped cilantro. You may not need all of the dressing so start with half and go from there. Be sure to taste, as chances are good that it will need a little more salt. Garnish with the toasted pine nuts and a little fresh cracked black pepper.

I had always made these with Yukon gold potatoes and recently tried this with russets and failed horribly! They turned to a gluttonous mush and stuck to the foil. Stick to the Yukon golds.

Ingredients:

• Yukon gold Potatoes
• Kosher Salt

Shred up the potatoes with the large side of your grater.  I like to leave the skins on but if you want to go through the extra effort to take them off, by all means do so.  Squeeze out any excess moisture in the potatoes by wringing them through a clean kitchen towel.  Spray the bottom of a sheet of heavy duty tin foil with oil and place potatoes on top. Season potatoes with salt. Spray top of potatoes with oil and cover the other side of potatoes with foil making a flat pouch.

Cook foil pouch over indirect heat for 15 minutes on one side.

Flip pouch over and place directly on grill for 5 minutes.

Open package up. Hash browns should be firm enough to be taken out of the pouch and placed directly on the grill. At this point, they should be pretty much done, but need to cook just a little longer in order to crisp up. Here is where the magic happens.  The  air is able to  circulate around the hash browns and make them very crispy.

Ingredients:

• 1 Mango, cut up
• 1 very ripe Plantain, cut up
• 1 jalapeno, cut up
• 1 tablespoon Sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher Salt
• 1 tablespoon Butter
• Cilantro
• Juice of 2 oranges

Put the of all ingredients except the cilantro & orange juice in a foil pouch. Roast on indirect heat on the grill for 30 – 40 minutes. Add the contents of your foil pouch along with the cilantro & orange juice to a food processor and blend until smooth. Sauce will be thick like guacamole.

This sauce was served with Caribbean tacos.

Meena over at hooked on heat posted this recipe a couple of weeks back and we gave it a try. She notes: “ALTERNATIVELY, you can avoid deep frying by simply grilling the marinated chicken on a hot grill till tender and done.”

I marinated them for a full day. The yogurt and lemon did their magic and they came out very tender. As soon I set them down on the table, a little hand reached up from depths of the kitchen floor and snatched one!
You can get the full recipe here.

Ingredients:

• 4 large fresh Tomatoes, quartered
• 1 quarter of an Onion, use larger pieces
• 2-3 table spoons Roasted Garlic Oil*
• 1/2 cup freshly grated
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• Olive oil, for coating the tomatoes and onions
• 1/4 teaspoon of Crushed Red Pepper. (+ or - to your own liking)

*When I make roasted garlic I put a few table spoons of olive oil in a foil packet with a head of garlic and a little kosher salt. Instead of adding the roasted garlic in this sauce and olive oil, just use this garlic infused oil instead. Spread the roasted cloves over some grilled baguettes.

The tomatoes should be grilled until they are almost falling through the grates. As you take them off of the grill, try to discard the skins. Leave them on while grilling though, this helps them stay together.

In a food processor, blend everything together.

This makes an excellent sauce for pizza, pasta or a dipping sauce for bread.

A few notes and tips:

• Make sure you soak the grape leaves in water for at least 15 minutes otherwise they may be very salty. I kept them in water while i was rolling them. This also makes sure they stay moist.
• Try not to let the grape leaves get to dry before grilling them so they don’t burn and crumble.
• Don’t over cook the rice. I like to cook mine with a little bit of butter as this helps keep the grains separate. Fluff the rice a few times so it cools off nicely. You don’t want a big clump of glutinous rice.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Dried Cherries (unsweetened), chopped
• 1 small red Onion , minced
• 1/4 cup Fresh Parsley, Finley chopped
• 1 cup diced [tag]Tomatoes[tag]
• 1-2 cloves of Garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese.
• 1 teaspoon Kosher [tag]Salt[tag]
• 1 pound of Ground Pork.
• 3 cups cooked Jasmine Rice, room temp
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• Lemon Zest, from one lemon.
• 30 Brined Grape leaves, rinsed

Mix everything but the pork , grape leaves and half of the salt in a large mixing bowl. Taste the mixture and adjust the seasoning. If you want to go meatless you can skip the next step with the pork. Some kalamata olives would be great instead.

Combine the other half of the salt with the pork separately and mix the pork and the rice stuffing together. This just ensures that everything gets evenly seasoned.

Lay a grape leave flat and place a log of the stuffing on it. To roll it up, fold the back over first and then fold each side over.

Now just roll it up tight.

Place the stuffed grape leaves on the top rack of your grill with the seam side down. Cook them this way at ~400 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until cooked all the way through. There is raw pork in there so make sure it is completely cooked.

Flip them half way through the total cooking time.

You can serve them with a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil and touch of lemon juice over the top. I have also added some finely diced red pepper and fresh parsley.

Ingredients:

• About 12 Cherry Tomatoes
• 1 ripe Peach
• 1 slice of a Red Onion
• 1 tablespoon Honey
• Pinch of Kosher Salt
• 1 Serrano Pepper
• 1 tablespoon of Fresh Cilantro
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for brushing

Brush the tomatoes and peach with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place them all on a hot grill.

Never mind the picture of corn in there, that’s another story, but I did slip some in the salsa and it was great!

The peach will need to come off first after about five minutes.

The tomatoes and onions will come off after ten minutes of total grilling time. Give them all a nice charring. The times I give you are just an approximation, so go by what the food looks like, not your stop watch.

Blitz all of the ingredients in the food processor.

All done!

Ingredients:

• Tomatillos, about a dozen
• Anaheim Pepper
• jalapeno
• Onion
• Roasted Garlic
• Cilantro
• Juice of one Lime
• Salt to taste

If you have never used tomatillos, they have a papery husk on the outside. When you peel it off their skin is sticky until washed.

You need need to peel the tomatillos and rinse them with water with the peppers.

Coat the tomatillos, peppers & onions with olive oil. I normally just pour a little olive oil in a plastic bag with the veggies and shake it up and dump them out on the grill.

It’s okay to pretty much char them because you want that. The onions should be taken off the grill first since they have high sugar content and will burn quickly.

Peal the skin off of the anaheim pepper; it should slip right off. If you can’t get it all that’s okay, since a little charred skin adds nice flavor.

Whiz all of the ingredients in a food processor.

All Done!

Ingredients

• One whole Chicken

Rub

• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
• Hint of Cinnamon

Marinade

• Approx 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 big bunch Basil
• 5-6 cloves Garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon Rub (recipe above)
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• 2 tablespoons Honey

Basting mixture

• 1 stick Butter
• 1-2 cloves Garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon Rub (recipe above)
• Zest of 2 Lemons

As you can see this is a lot of basil.

Mix all of the seasonings together to make the rub.  This will go into the marinade and the basting mixture as well.  Blend all of the ingredients for the marinade in a food processor. Put all of the ingredients for the basting mixture in a small sauce pan and set it aside.

One of the easiest ways to grill a whole chicken is to butterfly it.  To butterfly the chicken, you just need to cut the back bone out with a knife or a pair of poultry shears and press it down flat.  By doing this, we maximize the grilling surface of the chicken and cut down on cooking time since it is flat.  Season the bird with the remainder of the Rub.

Coat both sides of the chicken with the marinade and get it under the skin.  Refrigerate for 4 - 6 hours or overnight.

Grill the butterflied chicken indirectly at about 400 - 450 degrees for about 30 - 45 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked.

For the last 10-15 minutes grill over direct heat and baste with the butter mixture.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of Ground Pork
• 1 tablespoon Kosher Salt
• 1 tablespoon Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• 2 teaspoons Fennel Seed
• 1 teaspoon Parsley Flakes
• 1 teaspoon Oregano
• ½ teaspoon Granulated Onion Powder
• ½ teaspoon Granulated Garlic Powder

Mix all of the ingredients very well until combined; it’s important that you do not have pockets of unmixed seasonings in the sausage mixture.

When combined, refrigerate for an hour to let the seasonings merry with the pork.

Shape the sausage into thin patties and place them on a hot grill.

Ingredients
1 pound of Ground Pork
1 heaping tablespoon fresh Basil, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh Parsley
2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
1 tablespoon Sugar
½ teaspoon Toasted Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Paprika
½ teaspoon Oregano
½ teaspoon Garlic

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

Let pork mixture rest for at least one hour in your refrigerator so the spices can sink in.

Shape into thin patties and place on a hot grill.

Cook until done.

Ingredients:

• 6 boneless, skinless Chicken Thighs

For the marinade:

• Juice of half a Lemon
• Zest of a whole Lemon
• ¾ cup of Coconut Milk
• 1 Serrano pepper
• Approximately 2 inches/nubbins of Ginger, peeled (size like your thumb, a nubbin!)
• 4 cloves of Garlic, peeled
• 1 Shallot, peeled
• ¼ large Red Onion, peeled
• Approximately 1 cup fresh Cilantro
• 1 tablespoon Dark Brown Sugar
• 2 tablespoons Fish Sauce
• 2 tablespoons Soy Sauce

Place all of the ingredients for the marinade into a food processor.

Blend until everything has been minced up well. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the marinade to use as a sauce later (do not place reserved sauce with raw chicken).

Marinate for about 4 hours if you’re using the thighs.

Tip: Don’t do like I did and just dump the bag of chicken out on the grill, you’ll have a mess.

Strain out all of the solids from the reserved sauce so that it is smooth and lump-free.

Ingredients:
1 Avocado
2 spoonfuls of Fresh Tomato Salsa
Kosher Salt

Remove the outer skin and the seed of the avocado.

Mash the avacado with a fork, mix in the fresh salsa and season to taste with salt.

Ingredients:
8 Tomatoes
1/4 Red Onion
1 bunch Cilantro
1 Serrano Pepper
1 Lime
Salt
Sugar

The Ingredients….

Add the tomatoes to a food processor and blend until somewhat smooth. Place puréed tomatoes in a sieve or colander.

Squeeze out excess liquid. This step will prevent the salsa from becoming soupy when we add the lime juice.

Add the red onion, serrano and cilantro to the food processor and give it a whirl.

Pour the contents of the food processor into a bowl, and add pureéd tomatoes in as well. Add lime juice, then salt and sugar to taste. Mix by hand.

This will come to its full flavor when it has had time to rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Slice the apples and lay them on some tin foil. Add the walnuts, brown sugar and butter, cut into small cubes (approximately 4 tablespoons). Seal the packet and put it on an indirect place on your grill. This took about 45 minutes at around 300 - 375 degrees.

Be careful of steam when opening.

Ingredients:

• Bread (a nice crusty Loaf)
• Tomatoes cut into 1/2 inch slices
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Fresh Basil
• Kosher Salt

Start with ½ cup of balsamic vinegar and reduce it down to 1/8 cup. It should be thick like syrup. Set aside to cool.

Brush the tomatoes and bread with the olive oil and season with kosher salt. The tomatoes should rest with the oil and salt for about 30 minutes before grilling.

Start to grill the tomatoes first. They should take about 10 -15 minutes, depending on how hot your grill is.

You want to get the tomatoes nice and charred.

The bread should take about 5 minutes, depending on how hot your grill is.

To finish this off, cut the grilled tomatoes in half and lay them on the grilled bread. Top with some fresh basil and a drizzle of the balsamic syrup.

Ingredients:

• 4 - 6 Yukon Gold Potatoes
• Softened Butter
• Kosher Salt
• Thinly sliced Prosciutto
• Finely chopped Parsley
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• Fresh cracked Pepper

Lay a sheet of heavy aluminum foil out on a flat work surface; liberally coat the bottom with butter–do not skimp out on this step or the potatoes will stick. If you want to make sure the potatoes won’t stick to the foil, in addition to the butter, spray the foil with some Pam or brush with olive oil.
Slice the potatoes on a mandolin so they are about 1/8 of an inch thick, and lay them out as shown so they overlap a bit. Add a layer of the prosciutto, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Since the parmesan and prosciutto are somewhat salty, go light on the salt.

Add another layer of potatoes, filling , then top it off with another layer of potatoes. Brush the top with olive oil.

Liberally coat another sheet of aluminum foil with butter and cover the whole thing with the butter side down making a flat pouch. Place on indirect heat and cook for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

Place the pouch directly on the grill and grill in the pouch for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, carefully open the pouch and slide the whole thing out directly onto the grate. Grill this way until brown and crispy flipping one time to get each side crispy.

Ingredients:

• 1 unripe (green) Plantain
• Olive oil
• Kosher Salt

First, take the peel off of the plantain. You will most likely not be able to peel it like a banana. Cut off each end, and use a sharp knife to cut off the peel part of the entire length of the plantain.

Cut the pealed plantain into 1 inch pieces, oil them, and place on a hot grill.

Give each side about 3 – 4 minutes with a quarter turn in the middle. We want to form a crispy crust on each side.

When they are nice and brown on each side, take them off the grill and flatten them with a glass or mallet (something with a smooth, flat surface).

Re-coat with olive oil and place them back on the grill until they are golden and crisp.

Hit them with salt and garnish with chopped cilantro.

• Boneless (I’m using 2 here)
• ¼ of a