Grilled Cheese for Grown-Ups, Linkage, and Being Banned

There is a wild and nasty rumor flying around Twitter and the Blogosphere that today is National Grilled Cheese Day. Now THIS is a valid and worthy commemoration befitting the Founders' spirit of a national holiday. It seems like everyone should get the day off or something in observance. Go home now. I'm closing the banks. Oh wait, my delusions of grandeur are showing again.

Plain grilled cheese sandwiches are definitely good and obviously have their place... But let's grow it up a little. Jules' Grown-Up Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.

Grilled Cheese for Grown-Ups

What you need per sandwich:

2 slices of multi-grain bread
2 tablespoons of butter
1 tablespoon of pesto
4 slices of mozzarella cheese
2 slices of tomato ((I actually used cherry tomatoes cut into slices))
4 leaves of basil

Grill them up:

Start by pre-heating your pan of choice without spraying anything on it over a medium heat.  I have a sandwich press that I like.  It seals the edges and the sandwiches look nice, but it is a total bitch to clean because the plates aren't removable.  You can also use a grill pan with a press if you have one of those ((I'll put a link at the bottom if you decide you need one and I know you probably do)) or you can always just use a frying pan and smash the damn thing the old fashioned way.

Butter the two slices of bread on one slide.  Flip one piece over and "butter" it with the pesto.  ((My name is Jules and I'm a pesto-holic.  I seriously love that shit.)) Layer that side with the tomatoes, the basil, and then put the mozzarella on top.  Quick tip: slice your tomatoes as thinly as you can so that they actually warm up.  I hate it when there is cold crap inside a hot sandwich.  That might just be me though.

Carefully transfer that piece of bread to the pan.  ((Hopefully the mozzarella on top will keep you from spilling the contents.)) Grab the other slice and put it butter side up ((I don't know how elementary some of y'all might be.))  Smash it.  You can use the grill press if you have that, a smaller pan, or even a spatula.  But seriously, smash it down.

Let it cook for a couple of minutes, or just until when you peek at the bottom side, it is getting golden brown.  Flip it ONCE and toast the other side.  The cheese should be melty in another two minutes.

Cut it diagonally because that is the correct way to slice sandwiches.  If you do it up and down into "halves" I'm not going to talk to you anymore.

Melty Mozzarella

Nutritional Info:  Let's call it about 400 calories, but this will depend on the type of bread and the amount of butter, pesto, and cheese you use.  Not the lightest thing in the world, but that's okay.

 *****

In other news, my margarita chicken recipe was linked on Healthy Living Blogs' Wednesday Barbecue Recipes.   Some of the other recipes look good too.  Check them out.

In an act of shameless self promotion, if you are looking for a grill press or any other kitchen-type stuff, contribute to my pesto fund by shopping here, would ya? I started doing this primarily to earn free kitchen stuff for my ventures. To date, I have earned over $1,200 in free stuff, so help a girl out. Cookware is expensive.

What else? We managed to get temporarily suspended on Twitter which I found hilarious. I suppose most people wouldn't think so but I thought it was awesome. You can follow me to see if I manage to do it again... The sidebar should have a link. Username is @julia_steele. In further shameless self-promotion, you can always "share" these posts on social networking sites using the buttons below too. Please and thank you and have a lovely day.

I think that's all for today. I'm entering a fiction contest and I can't wait to get to work on it before I need to redirect my attention to the private cooking lesson I'm giving this Saturday and to the party I'm doing on Sunday evening. GOOD TIMES. My "work" is better than your work.

Grilled Artichokes, Herbed Lemon Aioli Dipping Sauce, and The Most Random Week Ever

Is everyone enjoying their long weekend?  You better be.  It's a beautiful day here in sunny Arizona... mid 80's.  We always hang on tight to these last few days before the constant streak of triple-digit days hits.  I've been here for over ten years now.  At this point, I'm fine up to 108 degrees.  It really doesn't bother me and it's not unusual to find a lot of us wearing jeans or full black suits in that weather.  But let me tell you, when you walk outside at midnight and it is still 102?  That's just effed up.  True story.

On our theme of hot weather meals, let's do an appetizer.  Grilled artichokes with a lemony garlicky dipping sauce.    If you have never handled a fresh artichoke before, it can be a little scary.  It's thorny, it has something they actually call a "choke" in it because it will attempt to choke you to death, and it just looks kind of weird.  BUT.  Don't be afraid.  It's actually pretty easy.

Grilled artichoke hearts

Prepping an artichoke:

Put about two inches worth of water on to boil.

Using a very sharp knife, cut off the top two inches of the artichoke, where it comes to a point.  Then, using a scissors, go around the outside of the artichoke and snip off the very ends of the leaves to remove the sharp pointy part.

Throw the artichoke in the boiling water and let it steam for 15 minutes to get it softened up.

Now we will put together the dipping sauce...

What you need for the dip:

2 tablespoons of mayo
2 tablespoons of dijon mustard
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 big squeeze of lemon
1 teaspoon of so of fresh thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all of the above together in a small bowl and store in the refrigerator while we finish up.

Mayo, dijon, garlic, lemon, and fresh thyme

Right now.  Yes, NOW.  Go turn on the grill.

When the 15 minutes is up on the steaming, very carefully remove the artichoke to a cutting board.  Let it cool down for a couple of minutes or you can be impatient like I am and use a dishtowel to hold onto it for the next part.

In a bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon and set aside.

Using a large knife, cut the artichoke in half, length-wise.  When you open it up, you will see this weird shit inside that looks kind of like hair or very fine straw.  YOU GOTTA GET RID OF THAT CRAP. Using a spoon, start scooping it out and throwing it away.  You need to get all of the "hair," which is actually called the "choke" out of there.  Scrape against the bottom of the artichoke pretty firmly to get it all and then curse when it goes flying across the room.  You can also scrape out the little tiny interior leaves that are attached to it at the same time.  You are done when it looks hollowed out and there is no more "hairy shit" inside it.

Brush the artichoke on all sides with the olive oil and lemon juice mixture.  Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.

Time to grill.  Finally.  Put the artichoke on a medium heat grill, cut side UP, for ten minutes.  Flip the halves over and grill another 5 minutes.

Pretty

Serve with your dip as a light appetizer.  I'd say one artichoke probably serves about 2 people depending on the size.  

Nutritional Info:  The artichoke is practically a freebie.  The entire quantity of the dip is about 300 calories and this makes enough dip for 4 artichokes.

*****

The over-arching list of what I have to do this week looks like it belongs to a schizophrenic.  Everything from handling a hearing in a homicide case to making meatballs for Good Doggy Gourmet to doing a wedding reception for 50 to Gaga only knows what.  It should be an interesting week!

By the way, not to self-promote too much... But if you are in need of a good knife or knife set, you can help your pal Jules out by ordering off my website.  Pretty please?    


 

Margarita Chicken, Reorganizing, and Mischief

I'm back.  Well, I didn't really go anywhere, but regardless, I'm back.  After a long day on my feet on Sunday cooking for the Mothers' Day French Ambition Tour and a repeat of that Monday morning, I declared Monday afternoon/evening a work-free zone.  All I did during that 12 hours was finish two freelance projects, research what we are referring to as the World Domination Project ((evil laugh here,)) and have a text conversation about absolutely nothing which required in excess of 50 sent messages.  Time well spent.  

The seemingly never-ending political campaign ended last night with the victory toasted with Roger Clyne's Mexican Moonshine.  ((Only four people were being actively babysat after said toast, so that's a decent ratio.))  It got me thinking...  we should make tequila lime chicken.  Alas, my plans were slightly thrown off course when I discovered I didn't actually have tequila ((which if you have seen my bar that should lead to a major, "What? The? Fuck?"))  SkinnyGirl Margaritas to the rescue.

SkinnyGirl Margarita Chicken

What you need:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/4 cup of my personal hero Bethenny Frankel's SkinnyGirl Margarita

1/2 cup of orange juice

1 huge squeeze of lime

Dashes of the following: sea salt, chili pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, dried parsley, and black pepper

What to do:

Place the chicken breasts in a glass bowl, stab it repeatedly with a fork ((you can mutter your ex's name, your boss's name, or whoever's name while you do this for free therapy points,)) and then dump everything else in.  Mix it around a little of that the meat is covered with a little bit of everything.  Cover with some form of cling wrap and refrigerate for at least a half an hour, but as long as overnight.  

When you are ready to eat, preheat your grill on at maximum heat.  When it is really fracking hot, throw the breasts on the grill and let them sear on BLAST ((a real setting, remember?)) for one minute on each side.  Reduce the heat to a nice medium and let cook for approximately 4-5 minutes on each side.  Do not flip them a million times!  After the searing, once is seriously enough.  Over-flipping is what dries them out.  Stop it.  Also, no re-marinating!  Once it is on the grill, it is marinated enough.  Adding more marinade just increases your contamination risk.  Feel free to sprinkle on more spices if you like though.  That's allowed.

Grilling times will vary based on how hot your medium is and how big your breasts are.  Ahem.  ((I can't help myself.  Every single time.  I'm such a child.))  Test them with a meat thermometer ((I never do this, I like to live dangerously)) or slice into the thickest part of one to check for doneness.

This is delicioso as is, or you can top it with a little bit of shredded Mexican cheese, some diced avocado, tomato and/or chopped cilantro.  I'm doing pinto beans on the side, but black beans or even refried beans ((if you hate your waistline)) would be good additions.  

Nutritional Info:  For a 4 ounce serving of chicken, approximately 230 calories and 5 or so grams of fat.  Win!

*****

This is probably of interest to almost no one, but I recently reorganized my kitchen and it has reduced my aggravation about a gzillion percent.  Now keep in mind, I cook every day, frequently for more than a couple of hours and twice a week or so, in 8 hour spurts.  However, if you are frustrated with never being able to find the spices you want or if you can't reach the olive oil you use 4 times a week, move it!  It seems like a chore, but really, it only takes a couple of minutes.  The things you use the most need to be in your reach.  Make your life easier!

*****

Lately a lot of people have been asking for quick, light recipes.  I aim to serve, so stay tuned!  

*****

I'm off to get re-blondified and then create a little mischief...  

Stuffed Turkey Burgers, Sweet Corn, and Tomorrow Piles

I had declared today a day off...  and then 6 am hit.  I'm trying to catch up on all of the things that continually get put on my Tomorrow Pile.  The beauty of the Tomorrow Pile is that you get to say, "Oh, I'll do that tomorrow."  Then when tomorrow comes, the pile still says "Tomorrow."   Rinse and repeat.

One of the things that has been looming is doing something about the condition of my refrigerators.  Yes, refrigerators plural.  As I was putting things away on Sunday after the brunch, there was quite a bit of rearranging going on.  ((Had you been here you would have seen that the door had to be closed quickly to prevent things from falling out.))  I finally decided an intervention was needed.  I took absolutely everything out, washed all the shelves, etc etc and cleaned out what was questionable and prioritized what needed to be used.   Let's just say it took so long that the upper level light bulb finally overheated...  It didn't burn out, it was just so hot that it had to shut down.  Yikes.  But it is now nice and sparkly and it turns out that I don't need to go to the grocery store ((at least for myself)) probably until October.

*****

Two of the things on the "Use Me Now" list were ground turkey and spinach.  Until about a year ago, I had never had a turkey burger.  I'm from Beef Country.  If you are having a burger, it had better have moo-ed recently.  I think I thought they were dry or just generally gross.  Wrong again.  Certainly not the same as a regular burger or even a buffalo burger ((which I strongly advocate)), but still good and good for you.

What you need for two:

1/2 lb of ground turkey ((I buy the 99% lean variety, but 93% is good))
1 cup of fresh spinach, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons of shredded parmesan
Various spices: garlic powder, onion salt, black pepper

What to do:

In a medium bowl, using your hands, mix together all of the above until it seems pretty consistent.  You can use whatever spices you like.  Just throw in a couple, three, four dashes of each.  Once mixed,  I like to use a burger press to shape them, because they stick together better.  I think I got mine at Target for like 99 cents.

Preheat your grill and then oil it.  I use GrillMates grill oil which comes on a little pad that attaches to your grill brush.  You heat up the grill, turn the burners down until you basically can't any further, and then rub the oil over it.  Nothing sticks.  It's like fricking magic.

Cook the burger over a medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side.  Again, this will depend on how thick your burger is, the fat content, and how medium your medium is on the grill.  Don't flip it a million times!  Once is enough.  Either use a meat thermometer ((cough, hypocrite, cough)) or cut into the middle to assess doneness.  You do NOT need to cook the living shit out of it.  This is why people think turkey burgers are dry.  This turned out moist and juicy.  ((I hate those two words so I had to use them both.))

I served these on multi-grain thin sandwich buns and topped with a little more spinach and roma tomatoes.  No need for any other sauces or condiments or anything.

On the side I had sweet corn, the first of the season from the co-op.  I LOVE sweet corn with a passion unknown to anything but my diet coke.  In case you didn't know, I grew up on a farm in the middle of Nowhereville North.  My friend Angie and I used to anxiously await the sweet corn being ready.  We would walk out to the field and and check on it, sometimes several times a day.  Nothing was ever more tragic then when the raccoons got it before we did.  ((Which now that I think about that, I think I just figured out something that I hadn't thought of in 20 odd years...))

ANYWAY, sweet corn is super easy to prepare.  Shuck it, boil some water, and throw it in for about 8 minutes or until the kernels turn a bright yellow.  I just then baste it with a little bit of real butter and maybe some salt.

Nutritional Info:  About 350 calories for the entire plate, assuming you have a 6 ounce burger and a large ear of corn.  VICTORY!

*****

Let's see what else?  I wrote my first ad this morning...  That was frustratingly fun.  I have no idea how it will look once the editor gets a hold of it, but it should be up in May!  I'll provide a link when that happens.

Now I'm going to go delight in my clean refrigerators.

Barbecue Chicken, Grilled Pineapple, and Fan Mail

Well, well, well...  Somehow, over 3,000 times, people have been silly enough to come back for more of my inane ramblings.  When I started playing around here, mainly as a cooking journal for myself, I never IMAGINED that anyone else other than maybe my mother and a stalker or two would care to read along.  So, you.  Yeah, you.  Thanks for playing!  ((I even got hate mail.  I was so excited!!  Um, don't send me hate mail though.  Send me massage gift certificates.  You can even tell me to go to hell on the card.  I don't care.))

*****

Some times the best things are the simplest things.  After scaring everyone ((including myself)) with the bechamel yesterday, let's do something easy and accessible, shall we?  Barbecue chicken and pineapple on the grill.

I have been told on more than one occasion that people have trouble getting chicken to still be tender when they have grilled it; either it is totally dried out or not done or just kind of generally effed up.  There are a few little tricks that I use, but this is, as usual, totally unscientific.

First off, use decent chicken!  I personally buy Trader Joe's* organic/free range boneless/skinless chicken breasts.  They aren't pumped full of chemicals/hormones and have less "filler" ((typically water)) added to amp up the weight.  However, typically, you need to re-trim them to get some of the extra fat off, but that's no big deal.   ((*I have sadly most definitely not been compensated by TJ's for my endorsement.  But their people can contact my people--shit, I have no people--me to work out a very favorable agreement to me.))

Once you have cleaned up the chicken, stab it with a fork a few times all over so the marinade can soak in.  Throw it into a gallon baggie with a big squeeze of marinade.  I usually make my own, but some days are just not conducive to that, so let's cheat.  I like Lawry's Mesquite 30-Minute Marinade.  It smells smoky and like a bottle of yum.  I would probably drink it.  The Jack Daniels' marinades are quite good as well, but you will definitely think you should drink those, so just be forewarned.   Throw the baggie ((tightly sealed, please and thank you)) in the refrigerator for at least a half hour, but longer would be better.

Heat up your grill for about 5 minutes on BLAST <--a real setting.  This will burn off any leftover crap and make sure the actual grill part is good and hot.  Remove the chicken to a small plate and just this once take your brush and put some of the marinade from the bag over the chicken.  Seal up the bag and throw it away. I don't care how much is in there.  It's garbage.  It has raw chicken juice in it.

Put the chicken on the grill, still on blast, and flip it after 60 seconds.  In another 60 seconds, flip it again to the original side.  Now reduce the heat to medium and leave it alone.  Keep the cover closed and wander off for 4 minutes.  In 4 minutes, you can flip it again and let it go another 3-4 minutes.  You do not need to keep basting it and re-basting it.  It has plenty of the marinade already!  If you must, you can do it once after you flip it, but you had damn well better be using a different brush and marinade from a different, clean bowl.  But seriously, it isn't needed.  ((Obviously, the times may vary based on the size of your breasts -- had to, sorry -- and how medium your medium is on the grill.  I'm talking about a pretty standardized 6-8 ounce piece.  You should probably test it with a meat thermometer or at the very least, cut into the middle to assess doneness.))

Remove the chicken to a new, clean plate.  If you put it back on the plate you took it out on, you just dunked it in raw chicken juice.  Even if it looks clean and dry, that's just not good enough.  Seriously, quit doing that.  I'm rarely picky about things, but this, this is enough to get me all riled up.  ((Side note: that is striking me as funny because I have used a meat thermometer exactly four times in my life and here I am preaching about salmonella.  I'm a hypocrite.  Disregard.))

One other thing I like to do, which I, of course, discovered by accident, is put the pineapple slices on the rack directly above the chicken.  They both get done at about the same time ((assuming you use pretty thick slices)) and the pineapple juice drips down for a little extra something on the chicken.  More free deliciousness!

*****

All right, I'm off.  I have a couple of minutes of work-work yet this afternoon ((which is feeling less like work-work now that it isn't really my work)) and then making The Best F*cking Chicken Ever, Parmesan risotto, and maybe roasted brussel sprouts for a dinner delivery this evening.