Grilled Vegetables with Pesto Vinaigrette

Is it really Memorial Day weekend?

I woke up in time to hear The Nudge remind me to check out the salmon when I went to the market today.

"Huh? Salmon?" What salmon.....

"For this weekend, see if anything looks good."
"This weekend?" OMG, is this weekend Memorial Day? I had completely forgotten. The end of May, already....

Seems I loose a week every month. I need to slow down and be more productive with my hours. I have a habit of walking in and out of the same room three times before I finally do what I wanted to do.

I was going to make a baked chicken & asparagus dinner tonight but I need to really open and clean the grill so I changed that to replicate a meal I had at Brio's Tuscan Grille in Baltimore.
Since salmon was on the menu for this weekend, why not grill a medley of vegetables and a steak?
A petite fillet of beef with a medley of vegetables tossed in a pesto vinaigrette.

I could do everything on the grill and only use one platter. I took out my iPad and started a new shopping list.

1 8oz fillet mignon (cut in half)
1 sweet potato
1 bunch green beans
1 red pepper
1 summer squash
1 container low fat pesto

When you choose your vegetables, try to vary the colors. They just looked so fresh next to a steak.
I would have bought asparagus but my market was sold out so I subbed the summer squash. I love zucchini but it tends to become limp when grilled.
I sliced the vegetables for grilling (larger than the spaces on your grill) and then chopped them for presentation. Toss in olive oil and salt & pepper and grill away. I had a bowl with the vinaigrette on the side and as they grilled, I dropped them in. The warm vegetables will soak up the vinaigrette.
This was excellent, I am upset I have not made this before. So simple, so flavorful and so healthy.

This meal conforms to a Paleo, South Beach, and diabetic meal plan and without the meat, Vegetarian and Vegan if you use a dairy-free pesto.
Since I pledged to make my hours more productive, I will serve the remaining pesto on Friday night with a package of tortellini (in my freezer) with any remaining vegetables (+ 1 chopped tomato) that didn't get consumed.
Tossed together while the pasta is still warm, it will be served at room temperature.

Now I have lots of time to wash the windows.
Gee, maybe I need to rethink this.

Pesto Vinaigrette
makes 1/2 cup
Prep time: 2 minutes
Cook time: 0
* 1 1/2 tablespoons prepared basil pesto
* 1 tablespoon honey
* 3 tablespoons olive oil, extra-virgin preferred
* 1 tablespoon champagne or white wine vinegar
* salt & pepper to taste

I put everything into a container, snapped on a lid and shook. The pesto and honey will act as an emulsifier, so if it's too thick to drizzle, add more vinegar. I bet after you make this vinaigrette you will keep a container of pesto in your freezer (measured into small condiment cups) so that the next time you grill vegetables you will have it on hand. Something so simple, can only be wonderful and this does not taste like pesto straight up. I can guarantee non pesto people will love this.

Chicken Under A Brick

I have grilled spatch-cocked chickens quite a few times. It's an excellent way to expose the skin to the hot grill while allowing it to cook evenly. Image, a crispy, moist tender whole chicken in thirty minutes.

To The Nudge, it's all about the skin. For me it's having the breast and dark meat cooked completely in the same time.
What if it's raining or you can't grill? This is where the Italians are, once again, genius with foods.

You butterfly the roaster, start it on the stove, skin side down, place a pan over the smaller skillet on the chicken and place weight in that pan (like a brick or a heavy cast iron pan), brown for 10 minutes, remove the weighted pan and place a few slices of lemons in the cavity. Replace the weighed pan and roast in the oven for another 20-25 minutes.
My new favorite way to dress a roasted chicken is with a simple olive oil, white wine, lemon and chicken broth drizzle.

I found these teeny-tiny baby potatoes that I started roasting in the oven while it was preheating. The potatoes and the chicken were done at the same time. So far as easy as it goes.
While they were roasting I steamed a bunch of green beans for 7 minutes. Toss them in the drizzle, serve with the chicken and the potatoes.

This can also be done on the grill. Set up a two zone grill. Coals in one half, a drip pan in the other.
Place the skin side down directly on the coal side and crisp the skin. It may flare up here and there but just move it around until you can see the edges getting a nice brown color. Flip it over, skin side up and move it over on top of the drip pan. Cover the grill and leave it be for at least 25-30 minutes (depends on hot hot the coals still are).The beauty of grilling with this technique vs. the beer-can chicken is that it cooks in half the time and if you are like us and grill almost every night in the spring-summer-fall, there are those nights when dinner in 75 just won't cut it.

The other reason for spatch-cock grilling is the ability to stuff all kinds of good herbs under the skin where it stays there during the cooking time. The Nudge loved the herb butter under the skin this time around.

Chicken Under a Brick
makes 1 roasted chicken

* 1 whole chicken, backbone removed and breast bone broken
* 1 tablespoon butter & olive oil
* 1 large clove garlic
* 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
* salt & pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon both dried rosemary and thyme leaves
* 1/4 cup white wine
* 6 lemon slices
* 1/4 cup lemon juice


Pre-heat your oven to 400°.
Make a marinade of the butter, garlic, zest, salt & pepper, rosemary and thyme leaves.
With your finger carefully separate the skin from the meat and spread the marinade as far as you can without breaking the skin.
Let it sit for at least 30 minutes but up to 1 hour.

Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Lay the marinated chicken in the pan, skin side down. Oil the bottom of another large saute pan, lay it on top of the chickens and place bricks or weights in the second saute pan. Cook the chicken until the skin starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Place the whole shootin' match in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes.

Remove the pans from the oven and remove the weights and the top pan. At this point the skin should be lovely and dark brown. If the skin has no color, slide it under the broiler for 5 minutes.
Check the chicken for doneness, it should be cooked through but still succulent and juicy. Remove the chicken from the pan and reserve on a large platter.

Remove the excess fat from the saute pan and add the white wine. Cook over high heat until the wine has reduced by more than half. Add a splash of chicken broth (optional), a drizzle of olive oil, the roasted lemon slices from the chicken and the lemon juice, season with salt and reduce by half.

Arrange chicken on serving plates or a platter. Spoon the juices over.

Healthy Brunch Dish - Recipe Redux Challenge, May 2013

The theme for our May Recipe Redux Challenge is to create a "Healthy Brunch Dish".
Tired of casseroles and wanting to stay away from very traditional brunch dishes, I thought of what I would want on a buffet table if I was invited to a shower brunch.

When ever I make anything baked or placed on pieces of crostini, they are usually the first to disappear.
I love panzanella salads so what better dish to make than a deconstructed panzanella.

A true panzanella contains garlic, anchovy, capers, red peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and sweet onion. A splash of good quality olive oil and very good red wine vinegar tossed with firm, gutsy, country bread that is toasted and cut into cubes. Tell me that doesn't sound like the makings for bruschetta.

I got to work dicing all my vegetables into 1/4" cubes and instead of anchovies and capers, I added prosciutto for that salty component.
The other vegetable not often found in Italian salads is avocado and I thought it was about time I embraced this wonder food and bruschetta, the perfect vehicle.



When I know I am making bruschetta I roast two heads of garlic and mash them with a touch of olive oil and salt. This is the 'butter' for the bread. It also helps to stop the vegetable juices from making the bread soggy which in the case of finger foods, is a good thing.

At home I lay out the ingredients and we make our own but entertaining demands a composed platter.
Make 1/3 with avocado, 1/3 with extra basil and and 1/3 plain. Let your guests choose. I would also place extra avocado in a bowl for those that want more.

Panzanella Bruschetta

makes 10-12

* 10" loaf of crusty bread, sliced into 3/8" slices
* 1 medium tomato, sliced, salted and drained on towels
* 1 thick slice prosciutto
* 2" slice of fresh mozzarella
* 1 roasted red or yellow pepper
* 1/4" red onion
* 1 large garlic clove, minced
* 10 leaves of basil
* 1 tablespoon good quality red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
* 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
* Fresh black pepper
* Sea salt
* 1/2 medium avocado
* 2 heads of roasted garlic

Toast or grill the bread until it browned on both sides.
Dice all the vegetables into 1/4" cubes.
Mince the basil and mash the roasted garlic.
Place everything in a large bowl and add the oil, vinegar, pepper and salt to taste.
Spread garlic paste on slices of toasted bread, spoon a tablespoon of vegetable mixture on top of paste and place on a large platter. Sprinkle more basil for garnish and drizzle more oil on each.

This is such a nice diversion from the plain tomato & onion bruschetta, people will want to know what you added.
A great dish to have al fresco with a light Sangria before a grilled dinner, or as an hors d'oeuvre on a brunch table.
Healthy, flavorful and easy. Make only what you think your guests will eat because the mozzarella does not hold well overnight.