Sunday, July 12, 2015

Friday Night Dinner Project: Barbecue Dinner *updated*

*UPDATED* - While going through some files on my computer, I found some of the missing pictures from this recipe.  I have added them below.

The posts in this series have been a bit irregular over the past month or so - but I am still plugging away at the Friday Night Dinner Project and I only have 8 menus left to cook.  This week's menu is the Barbecue Dinner.  I actually cooked the entire menu (minus one dish) about 6 weeks ago, but was holding off on this post until I made the final recipe, Hugh Carpenter's Grilled Tuna Skewers.  Boy, am I glad I waited.  They are amazing!  But we will get to them in a minute...

This is one of my favourite menus from Friday Night Dinners.  Everything in it is delicious (really delicious) and easy to make.  The dishes taste like summer and ever since I made this dinner I have been itching to have a summer party.  We have a large family gathering next weekend, I even offered to do all the cooking so I could share these recipes (unfortunately nobody took me up on my offer!).

Here we go:

Lime Martinis with Mint and Ginger
I made the virgin version of this (so it is more like a limeade) and omitted the ginger.  Refreshing and lovely served with ice.

Hugh Carpenter's Grilled Tuna Skewers
These skewers are divine.  I mean, they are really, really good.  The recipe can be made ahead and served at room temperature - but if you do not make it ahead there is no need to worry as you can whip up the whole thing (marinade and all) in about 10 minutes.  I did not have bamboo skewers so I simply grilled the pieces of tuna steak on my Cuisinart Griddler (we also do not have a barbecue) and stuck toothpicks in them afterwards.  Far less glamorous, but it does works well.  I did not have any preserved lemons on hand so I used the recommended substitute and just added a little lemon juice to some Hellman's Mayonnaise.  Please allow me to say again - these are so easy and delicious.


Barbecued Chicken with Lemon Chipotle Baste
The baste for this chicken provides excellent flavour.  As usual, I could not find pureed chipotles so I added some chili powder and cumin to the recipe (not the same, I know).  I used chicken thighs (no bone but skin on).  As we do not have a barbecue, I followed the instructions that allow you to brown the chicken and then bake it in the oven.  I would definitely make this chicken again, in the oven or on the barbecue.




Coleslaw
This coleslaw has a vinaigrette style dressing, which is apparently quite good - but the recipe also offers an alternate creamy dressing.  I love creamy dressings so I decided to go with that option.  The Creamy Coleslaw Dressing is delicious.  This recipe makes quite a bit of coleslaw - it says 8 servings but I think it could serve 10 depending on the portion size.  The key to this recipe is having a good food processor to shred the cabbage.  My food processor is very small so this took me quite a while - but it was worth it. (This is a link to one of Bonnie Stern's Creamy Coleslaw recipes, although it is not exactly the same as the on in the book).

I just pulled up my picture file to upload the pictures from the rest of this menu only to discover they were not on my computer.  I checked the memory card on my camera to find out that I deleted them (obviously thinking that I had already uploaded them to my computer).  *sigh*
Well good thing this is not my job.  I'm disappointed though because this is a great menu and I wanted to share my pictures with you.  It's not the same without the evidence - but we will carry on sans photos.

Moroccan Sweet Pepper and Bread Salad
I had not idea what to expect when I made this salad.  It was a pleasant surprise - but it does not surpass the delicious coleslaw.  I did not have Argan oil so I used olive oil instead.

Sweet Cornbread
This is a great cornbread recipe - it is on the sweet side (as the name clearly states) and it is definitely not dry as some cornbreads can be.  This recipe (it is the Brother Juniper's Cornbread Griddle) gets used fairly often in our house.  I use melted butter and buttermilk in the recipe as we are not a Kosher household.  I omit the corn kernels and the jalapeno.  If I do not have buttermilk on hand I just make sour milk using milk and lemon juice.  This cornbread pairs well with so many things.  When I have leftovers I love serving a slice of this topped with a bit of maple syrup - it is like a Johnny Cake.  So good.


Blueberry Cobbler
Simply divine.  Blueberries are a perennial favourite in this house (a rule of them is that we always have enough hand picked blueberries in the freezer to make a pie every week for a year).  This recipe can be made with fresh or frozen berries.  It is delicious, amazing - whatever adjective you prefer - this is an amazing dessert.  Serve it with vanilla bean ice cream.
The nice thing about this menu is that there are two recipes which call for buttermilk (the cornbread and the cobbler) so it gives you a good reason to buy buttermilk and not waste any of it.  However, if buttermilk is not available you can make your own sour milk as mentioned above.




Get the cookbook and make this menu.  You won't regret it!

Next up will be the Greek Dinner Menu.

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