November 29, 2011: Hawaiian Sausage Skewers Recipe

As the holidays bear down upon us (along with all those advertisements showing perfect houses and presents and families to make us feel guilty), chances are your to-do list is growing while the time available to do all those chores gets smaller and smaller. On those hectic weeknights when you don’t have any social obligations, a quick and easy dinner is in order. Try this recipe to use a couple ingredients you’re sure to find on sale at the grocery store right now: pineapple and sausage.

Hawaiian Sausage Skewers

1 one-pound package smoked link sausages, such as Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage, cut into 1 ½” long slices

½ fresh pineapple, cut into 1 ½” chunks

½ large white or yellow onion, cut into large chunks

1 cup Chipotle Peach BBQ Sauce

Thread the ingredients in alternating fashion onto skewers (you’ll need about 8 skewers or so, depending on their length). Spray a broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place skewers on broiler pan and brush with half of the barbecue sauce. Broil for about 6 – 9 minutes, until pineapple and onion begin to char. Remove from oven and turn over; brush with remaining barbecue sauce. Broil for another 5 minutes or so, until completely heated through.

Serves 4

Tip: This is really delicious served with rice, plain or cheesy. If you don't have any Chipotle Peach BBQ Sauce already made, any type of fruity barbecue sauce will do.

July 25, 2011: Sirloin and Pineapple Kebobs

Top sirloin is one of those meats that’s hard to tell just how it’s going to come out – I have some steaks that have been very tender while others have been more on the tough, chewy side. Just to be on the safe side, I like to marinate top sirloin. This is a recipe I concocted with flavors meant to complement the sweetness of the pineapple chunks.

Brush some of the leftover marinade on the pineapple chunks before grilling, as shown here.

Sirloin and Pineapple Kebobs

1 pound top sirloin steak
2 cups pineapple cut into large chunks

Marinade:
2 T. soy sauce
Juice of 1 orange (about ½ cup)
1 T. dried, minced onion
1 t. minced garlic
1 t. jarred, minced ginger
1 t. sesame oil

Trim meat and remove any silverskin. Cut into large (about 1 ½ to 2 inch) chunks, keeping the sizes as uniform as possible.

Combine all marinade ingredients and add steak. Marinate at least two hours in the refrigerator and set out at room temperature for half an hour before cooking.

Thread alternating cubes of steak and pineapple on skewers (will probably take 4). Grill over medium high heat for about 5 minutes per side, until medium rare. Remove from grill and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 2 – 4, depending on appetites and side dishes.

Tip: Feel free to add other veggies to the skewers, such as red bell pepper, sweet onion, mushrooms, etc.

July 13, 2011: Pineapple Salsa Recipe

With the abundance of fresh fruits and veggies at the farmer’s market right now, I came up with this recipe to use ingredients I had on hand. Feel free to alter or substitute the fruit and/or veggies to match what you’ve got available - mangoes are just as delicious as the pineapple in this recipe. Green onions, bell peppers, leeks and other herbs would be good to try, too.

This salsa goes great with pork and fish – especially tasty on fish tacos!

Pineapple Salsa

1 large garlic clove, minced
1 mini sweet pepper (orange or yellow or red), finely diced
1 T. minced white onion
1 chile in adobo sauce (from a can), finely minced (less if you don't like quite as much heat)
1 t. dried cilantro (or 2 t. minced fresh cilantro)
¼ to 1/3 cup chopped fresh pineapple
½ t. kosher salt
1 lime

Combine all ingredients except lime in small bowl. Halve lime and squeeze juice over salsa. Let sit at room temperature for at least half an hour before serving or refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to meld.

Makes about ½ cup of salsa.

June 9, 2011: Fruit Salad Recipe

During the increasingly hot summer days, nothing is better for a cool and delicious side dish than fruit salad. And with the abundance of fresh fruit available at the grocery store and farmer’s market right now, why not incorporate it into a light lunch or dinner?

This fruit salad consists of watermelon, pineapples and red grapes

There really isn’t much to making a fruit salad other than selecting your favorite varieties of fruit, cutting it up, and combining it in a bowl. Here’s some of my fave fruits:

• Watermelon, scooped into balls
• Blueberries
• Raspberries
• Blackberries
• Peaches, peeled and sliced
• Grapes (red, white, or green), halved
• Cherries
• Apples, peeled and cut into chunks
• Pineapple, cut into chunks
• Plums, peeled and sliced

If you like a dressing on your fruit salad, try using a container of vanilla yogurt or a bit of honey thinned with the juice of a fresh lime. Amaretto and cream is another good option – particularly delish on peaches and raspberries.

It’s summer so enjoy the fresh fruit while you can!

April 14, 2011: Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe

Many years ago, when my dad needed to something to do (i.e. a hobby), he enrolled in a Chinese cooking course. He came away from that class with a small cookbook authored by the instructor and a passion for making Chinese food each and every day, using the methods he’d learned. I can definitely say that he has mastered the art!

Dad passed that cookbook along to me and I’ve used it ever since. Although it only contains eight menus of a few recipes each, it’s invaluable. The dishes are all ones that I’d eat (as opposed to some of the more exotic Chinese recipes I’ve come across) and the instructions are clear.

This recipe for Sweet and Sour Chicken (actually it’s for pork but I used chicken instead to go along with this month’s theme) comes from that cookbook, entitled Be a Chinese Cook Tonight by Sue Nelson. Ms. Nelson recommends using dry sherry in the sauces but that’s not an ingredient I normally have around the house so I’ve included here my own substitution.

Sweet and Sour Chicken served with Jasmine Fried Rice and sauteed snow peas with water chestnuts

Sweet and Sour Chicken

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into ½ inch cubes
1 T. + 1 t. cornstarch
1 T. rice wine vinegar
1 t. honey
½ t. salt
1 t. sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
½ bell pepper (orange or red is a nice change from green), cut into ½ inch cubes
½ onion, coarsely chopped into ½ long pieces
1 ½ cups fresh pineapple, cut into ½ inch chunks
Coconut or peanut oil, for frying

Combine the cornstarch, vinegar, honey, salt, and sesame oil in a large, nonreactive bowl. Add the cubes of chicken and let sit at room temperature about half an hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables and the sauce.

Sweet and Sour Chicken in the wok

Sweet and Sour Sauce:
Juice from pineapple
3 T. soy sauce
2 T. ketchup
2 T. chicken broth
2 T. rice wine vinegar
2 T. sugar
1 T. cornstarch

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat up your wok (or a large, deep saucepan) to 375 degrees. Add enough oil to cover one third of the chicken cubes. Fry the chicken in batches for about 5 minutes each batch, until done. Transfer to a bowl lined with paper towels and keep warm.

Drain off excess oil until you have about one tablespoon left. Heat to 325 degrees. Add a teaspoon of sesame oil. Quickly stir fry the garlic and onion, then add the bell peppers. Cook just until tender-crisp. Add the pineapple and stir fry for another minute. Pour in the sweet and sour sauce and reduce heat to low, stirring constantly until sauce thickens. Add in the reserved, cooked chicken and toss together until heated through.

Tips: To make cutting the chicken easier and the resting time safer, don’t thaw it all the way.
You can also use an 8-ounce can of pineapple in place of the fresh fruit.

To make the menu as shown above, start by frying the chicken cubes; reserve any leftover oil. Next, quickly stir fry the vegetables and remove; keep warm in the oven along with the chicken. Prepare the fried rice (recipe for fried rice here) and place in an oven-safe dish to keep warm alongside the vegetables and chicken. Finally, prepare the vegetables and sweet and sour sauce for the main dish and keep warm in the wok until dinner is served.

April 13, 2011: Teriyaki Tuna Recipe

Here’s another recipe for your meatless Fridays during Lent. I know we’ve only got a couple more to go, but this recipe is also great for summer grilling. It’s perfect served with a fresh pineapple or mango salsa and skewers of grilled vegetables.

Teriyaki Tuna served with crispy asparagus rolls and slices of fresh tomato.

Teriyaki Tuna

2 tuna steaks (about 1 to 1 ¼ lbs.)
2 T. pineapple juice (reserve the juice from pineapple you prepare for salsa)
2 T. rice wine vinegar
2 T. honey
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. lime juice
1 T. Dijon mustard
2 t. finely minced ginger
Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper to taste

Rinse the tuna steaks and pat dry. Whisk together remaining ingredients. Pour over the tuna and marinate for half an hour.

Prepare grill. Grill over medium high heat for about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Do not overcook!

Tip: To determine if the tuna is done correctly, look at the sides of the steaks. You should be able to see a thin line of bright pink in the middle; tuna should never be cooked so that the meat is entirely “gray”.

April 7, 2011: Pineapple Carrot Cake Recipe

Well, my birthday is this month, and so if my friend Kathy’s – hers is just a few days after mine and we always celebrate together. One of our favorite desserts is carrot cake; we usually go out to lunch and order a big, decadent slice we can split.

I ran across this recipe in my latest edition of the Cooking Club magazine, courtesy of Tiffiney Hazen, and it sounded absolutely delicious – of course I had to make it for Kathy and I to share on our birthdays! Plus, I had some pineapple to use up so this was the perfect solution. See if you enjoy my slightly different version of this carrot cake as much as we did!


Note: This would make a perfect dessert for your Easter dinner menu!

 

Pineapple Carrot Cake

2 cups flour
2 t. cinnamon
2 t. baking powder
½ t. baking soda
2 cups sugar
1 ½ cups vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 cups shredded carrots (about 2 – 3)
½ cup diced fresh pineapple
½ cup sweetened flaked coconut
½ cup chopped pecans

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
½ cup butter, softened
1 t. vanilla extract
3 ½ - 4 cups powdered sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9” baking pan with cooking spray.

Mix together flour, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda in medium bowl.

Beat together sugar and oil in large mixing bowl (or bowl of a stand mixer). Add eggs one at a time and beat just until blended. Beat in flour mixture just until combined. Stir in remaining ingredients and pour into prepared pan.

Bake 50 – 60 minutes until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, prepare the frosting. Beat together cream cheese, butter, and vanilla. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar until the mixture is of spreading consistency. Spread over completely cooled cake.