Quick summer meal

 

Please welcome my guest chef, Judy Copek. An information systems nerd for twenty-plus years, Judy is a survivor of Dilbert-like re-engineering projects, 3:00 a.m. computer crashes and the Millennium Bug. In her writing, she likes to show technology’s humor and quirkiness along with its scary aspects.

Occasionally Judy takes a vacation that spins off into a novel. World of Mirrors was born when Judy and her husband visited the Baltic island of Rugen shortly after the reunification of East and West Germany. Time stood still on the idyllic island, yet all the elements of suspense were there: the Soviet Navy, ex-Stasi, Vietnamese “guest workers,” a dog that had formerly patrolled the Wall, and bad vibes from the days of the DDR.

 Judy is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, New England Pen, and Toastmasters International. She has published poems, short stories and memoir as well as an earlier novel, The Shadow Warriors.

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Sometimes one needs to produce a tasty meal when the “to do” list is long and devoting a lot of time to the task is impossible. Steak on the grill?  What about veggies? Salad? Dessert?

 Browsing through the newspaper ads, I saw shish-kebab meat on sale for $3.99 and I recalled an excellent recipe from days of yore, a recipe I have kept for over thirty years and still resurrect at least once a year. When I found the recipe, it was only for the marinade, not the cooking itself, with a cryptic note: Marinate 2 hours. 

 Not only did our local supermarket have the meat on sale, they had red bell peppers, baby bella whole mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and Vidalia onions on sale, too. I had some cooked rice in the freezers and a whole garden full of fresh herbs. Lots of lettuce, and a ready-made piecrust with some fresh rhubarb, strawberries and raspberries.  The fastest dessert ever is a crostata. 

 I’d make rice aux fines herbes, (sauté herbs with a little spring onion and garlic, add rice and heat). We are talking easy here.

 Sad experience has taught me that the vegetables I use for kebabs don’t always cook evenly. What happens is that the tomatoes fall off the skewers and the onion and peppers are half-cooked. A remedy is at hand. But first:  the ever-important marinade.

 Shish-Kebab Marinade for four shish kebabs

 Juice of ½ lemon

1/3 c. olive oil

½ cup sherry  (you can use white vermouth if no sherry)

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

1 T. salt  (I use about half that much).

½ t. freshly ground black pepper

1 t. curry powder

1 clove garlic (I’ll use two and smash them)

½ t. ground ginger  (by all means use fresh if you have it—this recipe predates assuming you can get fresh ginger)

1 small onion grated

Mix everything together in a large bowl, add cubed meat and toss. Marinate two hours.  Refrigerate, but remove ½ hour before you plan to grill.  Drain meat. There’s something about this combination of ingredients in the marinade that makes me keep coming back to it.

 About the grilling:

Cook the meat, the tomatoes, the onions and the red (you can use any color) pepper on separate skewers. This solves the problem of the overcooked tomatoes and undercooked onions. We remove everything from the skewers and serve meat and veggies together on a large wooden platter. 

 Let’s review the menu:

Shish kebab with onions, peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes

Rice aux fines herbes (chives, thyme, oregano and a leaf or two of sage)

Green salad (your favorite lettuce)

Crostata of rhubarb, raspberries and strawberries

For the crostata, I always mix sugar to taste and either cornstarch or instant tapioca with the fruit so the juices don’t run all over creation. This is the time to line your baking sheet with baking paper for easy cleaning and ten put pie dish on the baking sheet. 

 The meat is lean and you’re ingesting lots of fruits and vegetables. Tastes terrific, too! 

Bon Appétit!

 

 

 

Father's Day and grilling

I'm not sure when Father's Day became associated with grilling. To my ancient memory, it was not a day to make Dad work at the grill (to my knowledge, my father never grilled anything--cooking the food was woman's work, but then he was of two or three generations ago). Instead, it was a day to wait on Dad hand and foot and present him with his favorite meal, without him having to lift a finger. But nowadays, we expect him to grill.
Christian lived up to that tonight. Because they have two new dogs at their house, as of yesterday, he elected to grill rather than go out. He does terrific hamburgers and does mine rare, the way I like it. So I said I'd bring a can of beans (had it in the cupboard) and potato salad--did he want that wonderful recipe I have for a lemon-y potato salad or a more traditional mayonnaise one (I do not like mustard potato salad). To my surprise, he said German and then I remembered he loves the German potato salad I make. I'm afraid I may have posted it before, but if so I apologize. It's fairly easy (you're always going to have to chop if you make potato salad) and reheats beautifully. Also I think it's good cold the next day, maybe with a  dollop of mayonnaise, but it is a hot potato salad. So here it is again:

Christian's favorite German potato salad

What you need:

bacon
celery
scallions
flour
mustard
vinegar
water
sliced, cooked potatoes
chopped parsley for a touch of color (optional)

Fry three or four slices of bacon crisp and set aside to drain.

Drain off the grease in the skillet, leaving just enough to sauté vegetables.

Saute until soft two or three stalks of celery and two or three scallions, diced fine

Sprinkle with three Tbsp. flour, stirring to make a paste--if it's a bit too dry, add back some of the grease (you can use vegetable oil, but the bacon grease imparts wonderful flavor and you're going to add the bacon anyway, so.....)

Mix 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar; gradually stir into pan until mixture thickens, then add more liquid until all is added

Add about a Tbsp of mustard

Stir in sliced potatoes. Note: This is the one time in my life I use canned potatoes, because they hold together better than if I cook my own new potatoes--but that's an option. I used to be able to find pre-sliced canned potatoes, which made it really easy but lately I've only found whole and had to slice them (oh, hardship!). If you want to use new potatoes, I'd cook them and cool in refrigerator overnight; then peel and slice.

Crumble the bacon and stir in gently so as not to break up the potatoes.

Sprinkle with chopped parsley just before serving (Christian doesn't like "little green things" so I omitted it for him).

Serve warm. Serves 4-6.

Cooking hint: I know how bad bacon is for you. Someone told me recently every piece of bacon you eat takes nine minutes off your life, but who's counting? There are sometimes when a bit of  bacon grease makes all the difference in the world. I keep a grease can in the refrigerator (my daughter is horrified and keeps hers under the sink--I tried to explain that it would go rancid more quickly at room temperature, but got nowhere). But I keep a separate small jar, with a lid, of pure bacon grease. Diet or not, it comes in handy sometimes.