~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~
Every Thursday, here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!
{pretty, happy}
I really love it when my cooking groove is on. Grilling definitely helps. Somehow, the simplest thing is a lot more fun when it's grilled — and you can eat what you've grilled outside!
It also doesn't hurt to have a few things to get from the garden, although I have to say, this has been the slowest year ever. I really have to figure out some way to beat Mother Nature at this snow-and-ice gig she has going on. It's August and we are only now juuuuuust starting to have some reliance on garden produce, which is somewhat pathetic.
For this particular supper, I had bought four kosher chickens in my favorite mode, that is, “manager's special.” I've been pulling them out of the freezer one by one, but if more people had been around, I probably would have just cooked them all up, as they are petite.
With the addition of some really tasty Italian sausage, potatoes, and onions, it made a nice meal that served us for several nights. (I added water in the pan periodically to keep the potatoes and onions from burning.) Grilling it all was, as I say, adding some fantastic to the whole operation.
Since I have a gas grill but like the smoky flavor of wood, I wrap sticks from the yard up in tin foil, after “marinating” them in water for about 15 minutes (or using wet wood after the rain!) and put the packet right on the burner caps if caps is their name. It smokes up nicely and my food tastes like it's been cooked outdoors for real.
This is important, because while I love the convenience of a gas grill, it's a bit disappointing when the food tastes just like you cooked it in the oven but just looks, well, dirtier.
I also just wish that I had a lot more surface area, but since I don't, I sometimes stack the pans to get it all done. (I grilled with the cover down for this particular meal.)
The eggplant, green beans, green pepper, mint, and basil are from the garden. I made them according to recipes in Jerusalem: A Cookbook, thoughtfully provided for me by my brother-in-law, just because he knew I'd be inspired by it.*
I think I did pretty well! I did not (of course) follow the green bean salad recipe (“Mixed bean salad”) fully, as it calls for some herbs I don't have (and one I don't like — tarragon, ugh). But mint and basil are preferable to me anyway, so that's what I used. I had everything else on hand, so I went for it. So tasty!
The basic recipe for this salad is to boil the amount of beans you like to serve 4-6 people (10 oz according to the cookbook but as these are from the garden you can hardly weigh them — you know how much you usually make) until just tender and refresh under cool water. Set aside.
Roast or grill two red (or one red and one green) peppers (and I added onion) until just cooked.
Add to beans.
Saute about 6 tablespoons rinsed and dried capers, 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced, and a teaspoon each of cumin and coriander in a saucepan in about 3 tablespoons of olive oil. When the garlic is just golden, add to the beans.
Toss about 4 green onions, sliced, and a cup of mixed mint, parsley, and basil, coarsely chopped. Sprinkle with lemon juice and a little lemon zest. Let it sit for a while to mellow all the flavors together. Don't add salt until you taste it — capers are salty, especially if you space on the “rinsing and draining”!
The eggplants are split and grilled with a spread described in the book — very simple, actually. My eggplants are so small at this point that it was almost not worth it. Almost, but not quite! Tasty! The recipe is called “Chermoula eggplant with bulgur & yogurt” — but I left out the bulgur and its yummy-looking additions, because I was already getting a bit complicated with this “simple weeknight supper.”
Basically you cross-hatch the flesh and spread olive oil mixed with some spices and chopped garlic over the top. Then you roast or grill (I grilled, obvi).
On the plate I served it with yogurt mixed with a little feta cheese.
Besides grilling and getting excited about suddenly having made a really tasty dinner, we have had some Weather.
Hail just isn't something that happens often here, nor are tornadoes! So yesterday was quite the adventure in crazy weather for us! Fortunately nothing was damaged and we made it through, but the sky certainly looked ominous.
We had friends visiting from Missouri who are perhaps more tornado-aware than we are. “Do you have a cellar?” Well, yes. But we really, REALLY don't want to go down into our dirt and stone cellar unless absolutely necessary!
*Full disclosure about this cookbook, and maybe I've said this before: I think it's fun, with really inspiring pictures (until there is a recipe or two that you would love pictures of and instead there's just an undoubtedly photogenic something that is not the dish, and then that's frustrating). The methodology is odd. I'm not sure that I understand where the ideas for the dishes are coming from. Some are quite random. Tarragon is not an herb that I would ever associate with Middle Eastern cooking, for instance. Many of the recipes seem over-complicated. But then it will surprise me with some really great ideas and information. So my head spins with this cookbook but I keep pulling it out!
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Brigid says
I wonder if the tarragon presence in the Middle East is more of an eastern thing? Because I’ve definitely had it in a couple middle eastern homes! Always amazed by the diversity of culture between Egypt/Palestine/the Levant/Coastal Saudi/etc.
Though I completely agree with your questions about this cookbook, Jerusalem is seriously my favorite — I agree that a lot of the recipes get overwhelming, but the ones I’ve simplified are always still great and the ones I take the trouble with really cross into transcendent territory.
I wonder if part of the issue is that even though they converted recipes from metric, it’s still written with a British home cook in mind and so some of the processes and ways of communicating are “lost in translation,” if you will.
I’m asking for Ottolenghi, Plenty, or Plenty More for my birthday in a few weeks, so I’ll report back on the Ottolenghi cookbook quality…
Laura says
YUM! Looks like such a cozy, homey Sunday dinner except the fun, summery version because you grilled it! I’m still learning to utilize our grill for dinners other than burgers and hot dogs so thanks for some inspiration… not sure I would have thought of making that amazing looking meal on the grill!
Libby Jane says
Ah, Grilling! I was going to ask you about how to cook (or not cook so much!) in the summer to keep the house cool, and here you have! We don’t have a grill. This is the missing piece. We do make little fires and cook over them sometimes, but it’s too much work.
I consider this post a major accomplishment. Thanks for the heads-up. That advance notice facilitated my pulling myself together to post! Did I do it right?
Dixie says
Libby Jane, we got our grill at a yard sale for a song. Keep an eye out!
Libby Jane says
Yes! That is my plan! There must be lots of people who buy great grills and then barely use them.
An older (just older than me, not elderly at all. She runs daily) mom at our church was telling me she has an outdoor kitchen just outside the back door. She preps inside, and just carries it outside to cook it.
Leila says
Libby Jane — magical words — “outdoor kitchen”!!
Heidi says
When we had an apartment with a balcony with an exterior outlet, I would plug in my crockpot out there to cook. (A whole chicken to shred for other things – things that could be served cold, for instance.)
Libby Jane says
Oh, brilliant! I love chicken salad and we never have it because it just seems so hot to do! Is it immersed in liquid? How do you do it?
I do sometimes make beans in my rice cooker on our outside outlet. I heat them up, and then unplug it and do it again later when they’ve softended. It just seems so hard to bring things back there. Maybe I could spruce that area and the path to it up a bit. It would be worth it and make it not feel like such a pain.
Thanks.
Leila says
Libby Jane, yes! That is the key. Make the area pretty and tidy and then you will use it.
Mary says
Looks delicious!!
Caitlin says
What a lovely meal! I love that cookbook but I agree that many dishes seem overcomplicated. We have however, enjoyed everything I have attempted thus far. Those beans are next on my list!
Auntie Leila your tables are always set with such gorgeous linens. What does one do for daily linens when there are little people around (1-4)? I do a nice tablecloth for Sunday dinner, but I still can’t figure out what’s the best to do for daily use, because I don’t want to wash a tablecloth every day! Should I just do placemats (because I’m faced with the same issue of washing them every day)? Should I go Italian grandma and get an oilcloth tablecloth to just wipe down after every meal? Any advice? I still want things to be pretty, but what’s practical?
Dixie says
We put one single pretty placemat underneath the candle in the middle of the table as a centerpiece. A nice, stainable table runner (that doesn’t hang of the end) could be really pretty, too!
Dixie says
And by stainable I mean that it’s washable and dark or multicolored so that it won’t show the inevitable stains 🙂
Betsy says
Great question, Caitlin! I am in the same boat you are. Not only do I have a bunch of littles, but my table is HUGE. I am thankful to have a big table and we enjoy filling it up with company, but it’s just awkward setting it when it’s just me and the kids. And I don’t even have a tablecloth that really fits it. I know I should probably be keeping an eye out at the thrift store for one… the linen section is kind of overwhelming for me, though.
Right now, we do the oil cloth thing. I have a big world map under it, which isn’t exactly classy, but it makes for some good conversation. It gets people talking about where they’ve traveled. It is also nice to have it right there when we are talking over dinner about what country our meal originated from, or other such conversation.
I have been thinking about this, though, because my oil cloth is getting warped from all the warm dishes we’ve placed on it (it’s been in use for over a year), so I’m not sure if I want to replace it or start using table cloths. I’d love to hear other’s thoughts on this.
Jeannie says
I buy my super long ones at Target. I bought one this summer that I like so much that I bought three so we could cover all surfaces when we have lots of extended family at a few long tables. It has enough colors in it to go with almost every napkin we own and yet kind of hides the spills. They go in the wash at the end of the meal and back on the line to dry. Honestly my Target ones were less expensive, and a bit thicker, than the ones I purchased at World Market and have held up better.
You could use a sheet! They have cute ones in thrift stores frequently. Just a thought.
Leila says
Caitlin — As to linens for the table, this is something that becomes more doable when you don’t have a lot of littles. We did use a lot of what I guess are called oilcloth, but are not very expensive plastic-coated tablecloths that you can use for a month or two, even wash, and then eventually chuck.
But the key here is to get a good, pretty table. Eating on a nice wooden or glass surface is fine. It can get a little noisy with plates moving around, so placemats are nice as well. Choose sturdy wipe-able ones.
I like to get linens at yard sales or thrift shops. Sometimes Marshall’s or T.J. Maxx have nice ones. I sometimes iron, but usually I take out of the dryer or off the line and fold with a lot of smoothing. When the folded tablecloths sit on top of each other, they are smooth enough for every day use.
You can sometimes find two and sew them together for larger tables.
Rachel Nicholson says
I am completely gobsmacked that you can cook chicken that way! I just bought my husband a gas grill for Father’s Day this year. (I told him about your wood in foil tip for smoking the food. Thanks.) How long did it take for the chicken to cook that way? I was never taught to cook. I had to teach myself from one basic cookbook. Maybe a grilling post is in order? I’d love to cook outside in the summer, but have always thought of grills as being for steaks, hot dogs, and burgers.
Leila says
Rachel, it takes about an hour for everything to cook. My grill has a thermometer on the lid so I can keep tabs on how hot it’s getting. I set it on low and sometimes adjust the heat by turning off one or two burners.
I have also posted about cooking a turkey this way — you can search for that post — “turkey on the grill.”
I have even grilled pizza!
Charlotte says
My husband has tried a gas grill but really prefers charcoal, so our grill takes longer and is more involved to prepare. But that also makes him the primary griller. Right now, though, it’s too hot to grill or eat outside, even in the shade. We do more grilling in the fall. Your chicken, potato, & sausage dinner sounds like a lovely fall meal too!
Jessica says
Yum! Everything looks delicious! Love the idea of wrapping the sticks in foil to help create a smoky flavor. I’m going to have to try that sometime!
Davy Jolene says
Your food pictures are making me hungry! I’m glad you all weathered the storm safely.
Thanks for the {pretty, happy, funny, real} idea. It has become one of my favorite ways to write a blog post.
Maurisa says
The food looks gorgeous and delicious! I’ll have to try growing multicolored string beans next year. They are so pretty. We’ve had crazy weather in our neck of the woods as well!
Leila says
Maurisa, I love the different colors, but I will say that the yield is not as good as for the regular green ones, and the purple ones end up green when you cook them!
Virginia says
Wow that looks tasty! It reminds me of the amazing summer grills my parents would do when we were home from college and bringing friends over. They’d send us out in the morning to the farmer’s market and then cook up what we got on the grill. They’re incredible cooks and with that many adults working on dinner and the wine flowing we would make some truly intricate dishes. Good times : )
Anel says
But, but, but…… wherefore art thou newly painted walls?! 🙂 Super curious!!
Leila says
I know, Anel! Bridget is also running fiddle camp this week, so the room isn’t done yet! Soon!
Margo, Thrift at Home says
great idea with the smoke on the grill! Love how you did the whole dinner on the grill (basically). I see several of your methods that I want to try. I always try to put as much on the grill as possible, or in the slow cooker set outside. We have a Camp Chef grill that is basically 3 burners with a grill box that sits over 2. I do lots of canning on it, too.
Annalisa says
Canning on the grill! Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?
Jody says
We do all our canning on a camp chef camp stove – it keeps the heat and the mess outside. Plus, if you have a glass cook top it prevents the cracking that can come from the weight of the canners.
kristin says
When my babies were babies, about 10 years ago I was selling various items on ebay. I found it annoying to quote shipping if I didn’t know how much something weighed and if I took it to the post office, well then that was 2 trips with 2 babies. I learned one can buy a postage scale for $25 bucks. (We just bought one last December for my mother in law and it was closer to $40). I use my postage scale to weigh chickens and roasts that aren’t labeled with their weights — gives me a better cooking time estimate. And…I use it to weigh produce that I’m not sure how much it weighs but the recipe I’m following specifies a weight not a volume (like your green beans).
Chere Mama says
All I can say is: “May I come over for dinner?” It all looks so delicious and a seems like the perfect setting for really good conversations on wonderful topics. Lovely!