Tag: tomatoes

September Grilling: Cantanzaro Chicken and Tuscan Panzanella Salad

Tonight’s menu features the Cantanzaro spice mix. Cantanzaro is a city in Italy.  So there are a lot of herbs this Italian girl recognizes: marjoram, basil, thyme, rosemary and oregano. And garlic, lots of garlic. But the kicker is the lemon and lemon peel.

It’s all very fresh for late summer/early fall harvest and great for grilling. Then I’ve added a fresh take on how to use the last of those fresh tomatoes. And just because I’m feeling ambitious, I included Gelato recipes.

On the board tonight:

  1. Grilled Cantanzaro Herbed Chicken Breasts
  2. Grilled Potatoes and Peppers (recipe here)
  3. Tuscan Panzanella Salad (recipe here)*
  4. Gelato (recipes here)

*the recipe calls for bread bowls, but with this meal, I served it over a bed of bibb lettuce.

Grilled Cantanzaro Herbed Chicken Breast

  • 1 to 1-1/2 lb boneless chicken breasts
  • 2 tsp each: garlic powder, dried marjoram, basil, oregano, thyme and rosemary,
  • 1 tbsp lemon peel
  • 1 cup lemon juice
  • salt and pepper to taste

grill, marinade container

Butterfly chicken breasts (slicing them open down the center so they lie flat like butterfly wings). Place them in between two pieces of plastic wrap, and pound until they are about 1/2 inch thick – you don’t want them much thinner because they will dry out on the grill.

Crush together the dry herbs. You can do it with your fingers or use a mortar and pestle.  Combine with the lemon peel.

Place chicken breasts in a shallow container with a lid (I love my pyrex containers for this). Sprinkle 1/2 the herbs over the chicken, flip, and sprinkle the remaining over the other side. Cover with lemon juice (start with 1/2 cup and use up to a cup to get coverage).

Marinate for at least 30 minutes to an hour.

Grill quickly over high heat to get a good sear on both sides, reduce heat (or remove the chicken from directly over a coal fire, to the side of the grill), and grill over low heat until the internal temperature is about 160 degrees F.  Once removed from the grill, tent loosely with foil and it will quickly reach an internal temperature of 165 without drying out. Because they are thin, this will not take long, so keep an eye on them.

x-posted at What’s 4 Dinner Solutions

Fresh Summer Salsas

The tomato harvest has been lackluster this year. Weird weather has caused the fruit to be small and slow to ripen. Some I’m afraid are not going to ripen at all. The San Marzano, which should be about the size of a Roma, look more like cherry tomatoes. Early Girls are anything but early and no bigger than golf balls. And I have to wonder what the Park Wonders would look like in a good year – beefsteak size for sure. Flavor has been great on all of them, but I take comfort in that. 

Since the jalapenos are not only abundant this year, but incredibly hot, I decided to try and roast them to bring out a bit of the sweetness. It wasn’t all that successful, but I did manage to make a couple of jars of pickled jalapeno and freeze them to use sparingly in cooking over the winter.

I set a few aside to make salsas this week. I went with Fresh Salsa (recipe below) and Cucumber Salsa to cut some of the heat (recipe here).

For most of the summer, whenever I grill, I toss an onion on to the grill and let it roast until the grill cools down, so usually about 20-30 minutes on the back of the grate. The flavor can’t be beat and it slips right out of the skin. I refrigerate and add to various recipes. This week, it’s the salsas.

As the weather cools, I may roast a dozen or so and freeze them – they lose their shape but are great in soups and stews and with roasts.

Fresh and Easy Salsa

  • 4 tomatoes, quartered
  • 6 green onions
  • 2 tsp crushed garlic
  • ½ to 1 bunch cilantro, remove stems
  • 2 to 4 jalapenos*, remove stems
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • dash of limejuice if desired

blender or food processor

In blender or food processor, add all ingredients and coarsely chop until blended well**.  If you can make a day ahead, it gets even better.  Seal in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to a week.

**If you prefer a chunkier style salsa, you’d be better off chopping vegetables by hand.

How is your garden looking this summer?

x-posted at What’s 4 Dinner Solutions

 

Summer Favorites: Caprese Pasta Salad

If you’re wondering why I’m posting so many recipes it’s because as I finish up the first Duxbridge Mystery (Recipe for Murder) I am comtemplating what recipes to include. And besides, who couldn’t use a good summer salad mid-August?

X-posted at What’s 4 Dinner Solutions:

This one is a regular at the dinner table. Visiting local farmer’s markets offered me the chance to change this dish up with flavored fettuccini pasta a couple of times.

Pasta Caprese

  • 9 oz linguine or fettuccine
  • 2 large tomatoes, diced
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
  • 1 tsp crushed garlic
  • 4 oz cubed mozzarella
  • salt & pepper to taste

saucepan and large serving dish

Prepare pasta according to package directions. While it’s cooking, mix remaining ingredients together. Drain pasta completely (dab with paper towels, if necessary) then add to tomato mixture. Let sit for 10-15 minutes to let flavors blend. Serve warm or you can refrigerate and serve cold. Add a nice loaf of bread for a complete dinner.

I use a fairly expensive mozzarella for this dish because it’s softer, tastier, and absorbs more flavors. Any locally produced mozzarella would work. Also, my local farmers’ market has a pasta vendor, who hand-makes many flavors of pasta. This dish works very well with flavored pastas – fire roasted chili, lemon pepper, tomato basil, red bell pepper – the list goes on. You can also change-up the cheese to a Queso Blanco (again, use a fairly expensive or locally produced one), use cilantro instead of basil and use a chili flavored pasta for a whole new dish. The possibilities are endless.