Chicken Kebab Salad

One afternoon in March I was watching Food Network while rocking the baby to sleep, and Tyler Florence was making these yummy-looking chicken kebabs.  I’ve had this recipe on my menu plan a couple of times, but couldn’t buy the fresh bay leaves until we were in Lincoln a few weeks ago. Then I needed a good grilling day when the wind wasn’t blowing 300 mph. Finally it happened last week. These were a snap to put together. Here’s the recipe as I took it from the Food Network web site, then I have some notes on what I actually did after that:

Chicken Kebab Salad
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence, 2007
  Prep Time: 15 min
  Inactive Prep Time: 30 min
  Cook Time: 35 min
  Level: Easy
  Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
For the kebabs:
  a.. 8 links sweet Italian pork sausage
  b.. 1 crusty baguette
  c.. 2 to 3 medium, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  d.. 12 fresh bay leaves
  e.. 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  f.. 2 lemons
  g.. Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the salad and dressing:
  a.. 2 anchovies
  b.. 2 cloves garlic
  c.. 1/2 lemon, juiced
  d.. 2 egg yolks*
  e.. 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus shavings for garnish
  f.. 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  g.. 2 tablespoons water
  h.. Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  i.. 2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped
  j.. Flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
  k.. 2 lemons, cut into wedges, for garnish
Directions
Special equipment: 4 large foot-long skewers, metal or thick bamboo work
best, soaked in water for half an hour if using bamboo or wood.
Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
For the kebabs:
Slice chicken thinly, cut the baguette into 1/2-inch rounds, and cut the
sausage links up into chunks, alternating cuts at 45 degree angles for nice
triangular shapes.
Now prepare the kebabs. Take the skewers 1 at a time and begin threading the components alternately. Start with a piece of bread, then chicken, bay leaf, sausage, and bread; repeat this 3 times to fill the skewers, ending with bread.
Lay the prepared kebabs out on your board and drizzle liberally with
extra-virgin olive oil. Squeeze the lemon juice all over and season well
with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the prepared kebabs onto
preheated grill and cook for about 7 to 10 minutes per side, or until cooked
through.
While kebabs are roasting you can prepare the salad. In a blender combine
the anchovies, garlic, lemon juice, egg yolks and grated Parmesan. Pulse a
couple of times to combine, then add the water and blend again. With the
motor running, gradually pour the oil through the feed tube and continue to
blend until emulsified. Season, to taste, with salt and some freshly ground
black pepper.
In a large mixing bowl add the chopped romaine. When the kebabs are done, remove from the oven and slide the kebab components off the skewers directly into the bowl. Add some dressing and gently toss to combine.
To plate, garnish with parsley leaves, shaved Parmesan and fresh lemon
wedges.

**My notes: For the salad portion of this recipe, I cut up a couple of heads of Romaine, then just used Cardini’s Caesar Salad dressing.

For the kebabs, I added half mushrooms to the skewers after each sausage piece. I think my grill was a little too hot since some of the bread was burned. I did cook them for 7 minutes on each side, though, to make sure the chicken was fully cooked.

This was a light but flavorful supper. I think it could be made without the fresh bay leaves and still taste great. The bread chunks made for large croutons.

This is one I’ll make again when the weather is hot and no one wants a heavy meal.

Stuffed Pork Loin

Greg’s been looking at barbecue web sites lately and they’ve inspired him to try something new. On Sunday afternoon, he whipped up this stuffed loin of pork and cooked it on the rotisserie on the grill.

He sliced the loin in kind of a circle pattern so it laid open flat, then layered it with prepared Stovetop stuffing (I know, but he loves it…). He didn’t tell me he was doing it, so I didn’t get a photo of that step, but I did see he was tying it up and putting the rotisserie hardware on, so I grabbed the camera. Here it is, ready to cook. Stuffed, then simply seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and some paprika. According to Greg, the paprika gives the meat a nice color.

Here it is, sliced up and ready to feast on:

It was very tender and flavorful, and the stuffing added some moistness. I imagine we’ll be experimenting with different stuffing ingredients – he’s talking bleu cheese… I’d love to add some dried cranberries to the Stovetop (again, I know, but it was pretty good).

Any suggestions you want him to try?

Easy Summer Supper

An easy supper after a busy day. Grilled sausages (smoked mozzarella and artichoke), pasta tossed with a touch of olive oil, parmesan cheese, and fresh parsley. I also served some asparagus tossed with olive oil, parmesan, and lemon zest.

Citrus Grilled Pork Chops with Grilled Oranges

My nephew earned his keep tonight by preparing this dish for us for supper. I don't usually like sweet sauces or marinades on my meat, but this was pretty tasty.

1 (12 oz.) jar orange marmalade

1/3 C orange juice

1/4 C olive oil

1 TBS white wine vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 tsp. salt, divided

1 tsp. pepper, divided

6 (1/4-1/2"thick) bone-in pork chops

3 large oranges, cut into 1/4" slices

1. Place marmalade, orange juice, oil, vinegar, garlic, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper in a blender; process until well blended.

2. Sprinkle remaining salt and pepper evenly over pork. Place chops and 1/2 C of marinade in large Ziplock bag; seal and shake to coat. Chill 2 hours. Drain, discard marinade from bag.

3. Grill pork, covered with grill lid, over med-hi heat, 4-5 minutes on each side or until no longer pink or til juices run clear.

4. Grill oranges 1-2 minutes on each side or til grill marks appear. Serve chops w/ remaining marinade and grilled orange slices.

Ben found this recipe at WalMart in the produce department on one of those little cards they have strategically placed around the necessary ingredients.
The grilled oranges just had kind of an added "toasty" flavor to them. They were good with the pork.