Beating the Heat While You Eat
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| It's so hot in my house the wine is sweating! |
The steaminess of my house has had side effects though. It has forced me to cook creatively. It’s too hot in the kitchen to use the oven or labor over the stove top. And grilling isn’t exactly the answer either because guess what? It’s hot outside too! As the sun sets at the back of my house where my grill is located, the concept of grilling up dinner becomes as appealing as jogging through hell. It’s not that much better than being in the kitchen. So I’ve been using various techniques to get some (hopefully) impressive meals on the table without sweating into the food. Here are some tips!
Tip #1: Eat Cold Things
This is the obvious route of course, but you can still have interesting and delicious meals. Gazpacho and other cold soups are favorites but I also like to make hearty salads. Cobb and Caesar salads are go-to's, but one of my favorites is Tuna Nicoise - barely cooked fresh tuna (or you can use quality canned stuff if you’d rather), hard boiled farm-fresh eggs (which you can do in the morning before the heat creeps in), and loads of veggies makes for a filling yet light and fresh tasting dinner. I have made it so many times though that I’ve started experimenting with some non-traditional twists. Try this one… Non-Traditional Tuna Nicoise Salad (recipe below), it’s Provence meets Sicily. It does require some actual cooking with heat but not for long which leads me to tip #2...
Tip #2 : Cook Fast
I’m not reduced to eating only cold food during the hot months. I love me some Gazpacho but I don’t love it every meal for a week straight. So I like to pick quick cooking proteins (like seafood and veal) that won’t require much time in front of a hot stove or grill. Diminishing your face time with your hot cooking surfaces is key. Check out my recipe for Grilled Veal with crunchy veg and herb ‘relish’(below).
Tip #3: Do Half the Work
Ya know those totally delicious rotisserie chickens at the grocery store? Those are one of my favorite ‘cheats’. If you have the main course done by someone else than you can devote time to fabulous side dishes and put out an awesome meal without having to heat the kitchen up. Try this fresh and simple side dish, Raw Artichoke and Celery Salad from Bon Appetit. Celery, the underappreciated veg that’s usually reduced to being picked over on the crudité display, really shines here!
Tip #4: Use your Crock Pot
If you thought crock pots were only to be used in the cold months then you thought wrong! They are a genius way to cook in the hot summer months because they don’t put out much heat. Low and slow. You can do pulled pork, roast beef with jus for sandwiches, or carnitas. I love this super simple and flavor packed recipe from thekitchn.com.
Summer-time heat is what we looked forward to all winter. It’s here and it’s wonderful and it won’t deter me from cooking like I always love to. Stay cool and eat well!
Grilled Veal with Fresh Veggie “Relish”
Serves 2
Ingredients
4 thin pieces well pounded veal scallopini
2 stalks celery, chopped
½ of a cucumber, rinsed, seeded, chopped
½ bulb fennel, chopped
¼ lb fresh English Shelling Peas, shelled, blanched, cooled
2 Tbl fresh chopped herbs; use an assortment (fennel fronds, dill, parsley, basil, tarragon etc)
1 shallot, diced finely
2 Tbl fresh lemon juice
1 Tbl Extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
½ tsp crushed red pepper flake
1 Tbl capers, drained, chopped roughly
Directions
1. Prepare relish: Combine all ingredients, except veal in a medium bowl and mix until combined. Adjust seasoning to taste.
2. Pre-heat grill for medium-high heat. Season veal with salt and pepper. Once grill is heated, oil the grates. Add veal and cook about 2 minutes, flip and cook for one minute.
3. Remove veal from heat and top with relish. Serve immediately.
Non-Traditional Tuna Nicoise Salad
Serves 6
Ingredients
For dressing:
1/4 cup white-wine vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons minced shallot
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 large garlic clove, minced and mashed to a paste with 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon capers, drained, roughly chopped
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano
For salad:
3/4 lb green and yellow beans, trimmed
1 1/2 lb small (1- to 2-inch) potatoes (red and gold)
6 farm fresh eggs
1 fennel bulb, top cut off, outer layer peeled away, and sliced into thin wedges
½ lb baby carrots, peeled and trimmed
1 1/2 lb (1-inch-thick) sushi-grade tuna steaks
1 cup olive tapenade, store bought or homemade (recipe below)
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 package mixed baby greens
1 pt cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half
Preperation
1. Make dressing: Mix all ingredients together in a mason jar and shake until well combined, add salt and pepper to taste.
2. Cook the eggs and potatoes together. Add both to a pot and cover with water and a couple tablespoons of salt. Bring to a boil, once at a boil, turn off heat and let sit for 12 minutes. Drain and run cold water over them until they are cool. Halve potatoes and set aside while you peel the eggs. Set those aside as well.
3. Using same pot that you cooked the potatoes and eggs in, add carrots, fennel and beans in boiling salted water, uncovered, cook until crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes, then immediately transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking.
4. Heat olive oil on a griddle pan over medium heat. Add potatoes, cut side down and grill until you get nice grill marks, about 2 minutes. Remove and set aside. Add carrots, fennel, and beans (sprinkle with some salt to taste) and grill again just about 2 minutes, remove and set aside.
5. Add more oil to pan to cook tuna and let it get nice and hot. Spread tapenade onto one side of tuna. Cook tapenade side down and cook until a crust forms, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook another minute (maybe two if you’re tuna is very thick). It’s okay if some of the tapenade sticks to the pan. If your pan is hot enough and well oiled, it will turn out okay! Remove tuna from heat, and set aside while you assemble the salad.
6. On a large platter make a bed with the mixed greens. Arrange each vegetable component around the outer edges of the platter. Slice hard boiled eggs in half and arrange those as well. Finally slice the tuna and fan out down the center of the platter. Finish by giving the dressing a last shake and drizzling all over the platter. Serve salad with any remaining dressing on the side.
Recipe for homemade tapenade:
Makes about 1 cup
Ingredients
3/4 lb green and yellow beans, trimmed
1 1/2 lb small (1- to 2-inch) potatoes (red and gold)
6 farm fresh eggs
1 fennel bulb, top cut off, outer layer peeled away, and sliced into thin wedges
½ lb baby carrots, peeled and trimmed
1 1/2 lb (1-inch-thick) sushi-grade tuna steaks
1 cup olive tapenade, store bought or homemade (recipe below)
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 package mixed baby greens
1 pt cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half
Preperation
1. Make dressing: Mix all ingredients together in a mason jar and shake until well combined, add salt and pepper to taste.
2. Cook the eggs and potatoes together. Add both to a pot and cover with water and a couple tablespoons of salt. Bring to a boil, once at a boil, turn off heat and let sit for 12 minutes. Drain and run cold water over them until they are cool. Halve potatoes and set aside while you peel the eggs. Set those aside as well.
3. Using same pot that you cooked the potatoes and eggs in, add carrots, fennel and beans in boiling salted water, uncovered, cook until crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes, then immediately transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking.
4. Heat olive oil on a griddle pan over medium heat. Add potatoes, cut side down and grill until you get nice grill marks, about 2 minutes. Remove and set aside. Add carrots, fennel, and beans (sprinkle with some salt to taste) and grill again just about 2 minutes, remove and set aside.
5. Add more oil to pan to cook tuna and let it get nice and hot. Spread tapenade onto one side of tuna. Cook tapenade side down and cook until a crust forms, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook another minute (maybe two if you’re tuna is very thick). It’s okay if some of the tapenade sticks to the pan. If your pan is hot enough and well oiled, it will turn out okay! Remove tuna from heat, and set aside while you assemble the salad.
6. On a large platter make a bed with the mixed greens. Arrange each vegetable component around the outer edges of the platter. Slice hard boiled eggs in half and arrange those as well. Finally slice the tuna and fan out down the center of the platter. Finish by giving the dressing a last shake and drizzling all over the platter. Serve salad with any remaining dressing on the side.
Recipe for homemade tapenade:
Makes about 1 cup
Ingredients
1/2 pound high-quality mixed olives (such as Castelvetrano and kalamata), pitted
3 oil-packed anchovies
1 tablespoon brined capers
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 medium garlic cloves
Prep
3 oil-packed anchovies
1 tablespoon brined capers
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 medium garlic cloves
Prep
1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor fitted with a blade attachment and pulse 20 times.
2. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue pulsing until mixture resembles a coarse paste, about 20 times more.
2. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue pulsing until mixture resembles a coarse paste, about 20 times more.
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