Showing posts with label marinade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marinade. Show all posts

Saturday, August 19, 2023

Marianted Grilled Pork Chops

 

 


I know some people don't care for pork chops--they're so easy to overcook resulting in dry, flavorless meat.  Whenever my sister got a package of pork chops out of the freezer and put them on the counter to thaw, my brother-in-law would suggest that they go out to dinner.  Who knows how old that package of pork chops is by now. The standard for pork has changed and it now only needs to be cooked to 145 degrees. My husband is "meh" about pork chops but he loved these--moist, juicy and full of flavor.  The recipe is adapted from the blog Dad Cooks.  The original called for reserving some of the marinade to glaze the finished chops with.  I omitted that step but feel free to do it.  As the timing for grilling meat can vary greatly, be sure to check the chops and remove them when they reach 145 degrees.

¼ cup soy sauce or tamari

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 pounds thin cut pork chops (¼-inch to ½-inch thick)

 

Combine soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, honey and olive oil in a baking dish and mix well.  (You could also do this in a ziplock bag.)  Optional: reserve 2 tablespoons of marinade to glaze cooked chops.

 


 

 

Add pork chops, turning once or twice to coat.  Let sit for 30 minutes or cover with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for up to four hours.

 


 


Preheat your grill to medium high (350 degrees to 400 degrees) for ten minutes then reduce temperature to medium.

 

Remove chops from marinade and place on grill over medium direct heat.

 

Grill until you have nice grill marks on the bottom.  This should take about two minutes.  Then rotate your chops 90 degrees and grill until you have a crosshatch of grill marks on the bottom, approximately two more minutes.  Timing will vary. When done, the top of the chops should have turned from pink to white and the chops are cooked through.  I always test mine with an instant read thermometer.  They should be 145 degrees.

 


 

 

Remove chops and let sit 5 minutes before serving.  If desired, glaze chops with reserved marinade.

 


 



OUT NOW!

When murder taints writer-in-residence Penelope Parish’s charming British bookshop, she must follow the clues to catch a killer before tempers boil over.

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

Penelope Parish thought she’d turned the page on her amateur sleuthing days but when the owner of Upper Chumley-on-Stokes’ proposed first high-end gourmet shop is poisoned, the American novelist starts to wonder if she and her quaint British town are in for another rewrite. It turns out that not everyone was a fan of Simeon Foster’s farm-sourced charcuterie and imported pastries—many of the locals were outraged by the potential new competition.
 
With a full menu of suspects on her hands, this just might be Penelope’s toughest case yet. Luckily, her friends at the Open Book are there to help with every twist of the poisoned pen.

AND...


 Family fireworks lead to murder in the new Cranberry Cove Mystery from USA Today bestselling author Peg Cochran!

The Fourth of July always means endless celebrations in Cranberry Cove, and this year Monica and Greg have the added pleasure of spending it with Monica’s college roommate, Kelly Cargill. When they join Kelly and her family to watch the fireworks, it’s all very exciting—until the elderly matriarch of the family dies on the spot. Then evidence comes to light that she was poisoned, and Monica promises to do what she can to catch the culprit.

Just about everyone in Kelly’s family wanted to get their hands on what was sure to be a sizable inheritance. But Monica also discovers that one of them was trying to hide a messy love affair the older woman had discovered, and that the victim’s caretaker may have wanted revenge for enduring years of mistreatment. And just as more secrets surface and the clues begin to fall into place, Monica realizes that as she’s closing in on the killer, the killer is closing in on her . . .

Includes a mouthwatering cookie recipe!

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

 

My article on the Enduring Appeal of Cozy Mysteries 

Follow me on FACEBOOK

MY WEB SITE 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

Friday, October 11, 2019

Marinated Chicken with Leeks


Here I am again, watching the rain fall, which has made food shopping challenging. I think I mentioned before the fresh-premade meat and fish dishes that Field’s offers (and, I’m told, makes fresh every day). I’ve tried a couple now, and they’re uniformly tasty and well-prepared.

And then I had a brainstorm. The meals as sold need only to be baked to be ready to eat, and are already nicely marinated (not too salty, not too overwhelmingly spiced), which makes them a perfect candidate for a slightly more elaborate dish—half your work is already done.

This is especially important when you're working with a tiny kitchen like my Irish one!

My Slide and Hide oven
 I happened to have watched recently a show in which Mary Berry was gallivanting around from place to place sampling restaurant dishes. One involved prawns and oyster mushrooms and leeks in a light sauce. Well, I had no prawns and haven’t even sighted oyster mushrooms in a market, but I could find leeks, so I decided to improvise my sautéeing the boned chicken breasts and giving them a nice bed of lightly cooked sliced leeks. You could use heavy cream as a sauce (as Mary did), or a lightly thickened chicken stock, or nothing at all. You could serve the dish with orzo, which I often think of as fake rice, but a bit easier to cook.

[As a slightly relevant aside, my neighbor who lives behind me was born in Ireland but spent most of her adult life in England before moving back. She mentioned that on one occasion when she was house-hunting for her family, she toured what was then Mary Berry’s house (although she didn’t buy it). It had two complete kitchens.]

Now, what do I call this? I’ll take the easy out: Marinated Chicken and Leeks.

Chicken and Leeks:
(serves two)

Ingredients:



2 chicken breasts, boneless
3 large leeks
Bread crumbs (white or brown)

Instructions:

Marinate the chicken breasts, covered, in the marinade of your choice, for a couple of hours (or buy them pre-marinated).

Butter the inside of a round or oval roasting pan. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Slice the leeks thinly. If they seem to be a bit gritty, rinse them in cold water after slicing, then let drain and pat dry.



Melt some oil and butter in a saucepan and saute the leeks gently until they are soft but not browned. Spread them in the bottom of the prepared baking dish.



Here’s where you have to decide if you want a sauce with your dish, clear or creamy, or just skip that step.

In the same pan, melt some more butter with oil at medium heat, and sprinkle the breasts with salt and pepper and saute them, turning once, until they are lightly browned (you don’t need to cook them through).



Lay them over the layer of leeks. Sprinkle to top of the dish with breadcrumbs.




Place the dish in the preheated oven and cook for half an hour, or until the bread crumbs are lightly browned.


And there you have it—a quick and simple meal (if you’re lucky enough to have a Field’s nearby!)

Coming in January 2020
Did I mention I found a ring fort right down the hill from my cottage? 

Tuesday, July 9, 2019

10th Anniversary - Cleo Coyle's Coffee Marinated Steak with #Bookgiveaway + Tote Bag



Happy 10th Anniversary!

Cleo Coyle has a partner in
crime-writing—her husband.
Learn about their books
by clicking here and here.

I am so proud to be one of the founding members of Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen. Back in July 2009, I was already posting recipes online for my Coffeehouse Mystery audience, and I was thrilled to help launch this site to spread the foodie joy. 

At that time (2009), my husband and I had written seven national bestsellers in our culinary mystery series, set in a landmark coffeehouse in New York's Greenwich Village. Our publisher had successfully moved us into hardcover with Espresso Shot, the novel that earned our Coffeehouse series its first starred review, and we were preparing for the publication of book #8, Holiday Grind, our first holiday-themed mystery. 


To learn more about
Cleo's books, click here.
Our Haunted Bookshop Mysteries were also going strong. In 2009, we were celebrating the publication of book #5 The Ghost and the Haunted Mansion...


FLASH FORWARD TEN YEARS: 

Marc and I have re-opened our Haunted Bookshop with a brand new entry in the series, The Ghost and the Bogus Bestseller (now an actual bestseller).

As for the Coffeehouse Mysteries, we’re still happily writing them (we're about to sign a brand new contract with Penguin Random House), and we’re looking forward to seeing book #18 Brewed Awakening released in December 2019!



Now for our retro recipe...



Because Mystery Lovers Kitchen was born in the heat of 2009's summer, and because Marc and I are (obviously) coffee mavens, we knew the perfect recipe to help launch the blog. We’re delighted to share that original post with you today, as we say…


Happy 10th Anniversary, MLK!



Time Machine - July 24, 2009

Cleo's first blog post...

Mystery Lovers' Kitchen
Friday, July 24, 2009

ENJOY MY RETRO RECIPE BELOW.

(With the modern addition of a free, downloadable PDF.)


Here’s a simple tip for making an economical cut of meat delicious—and a nice use for your leftover joe, too, because why not make use of every last drop?

Why I love this recipe: Grilling is a cooking process that too often overly dries thinner or less expensive cuts of meat. My coffee marinade imparts a wonderful, earthy character to the meat while also plumping it up, keeping it moist throughout the grilling process. Sure a super-fat T-bone steak would retain its moistness, but who can afford cuts like that for the whole family? As an experiment, I grilled my top round coffee-marinated steak alongside a rib eye steak treated only with dry rub. The top round was half the price, but tasted twice as good, thanks to its little bath in bean juice!

"Can't you just hear the sizzle?"



Ingredients: 

Steaks for grilling or broiling (I use top round)
Cold coffee
Salt & Pepper
Worcestershire sauce (optional) 
Scallions or shallots (optional) 
Steak dry rub (optional)

Step 1: Purchase meat
Go for an economical cut. (I use top round steak.) Pound the steak out with the spike side of a meat hammer. If you don’t have a meat hammer, then put your steak in a plastic bag and pound it with a regular hammer or the back of a ladle – and then prick it all over with a fork. This starts the tenderizing process. (It also gets all kinds of frustrations out. Who needs therapy when you can pound meat?)

Step 2: Cover with coffee
Place your steaks in a glass or plastic container and pour enough cold coffee over them to cover. You can use any kind of coffee. Just save the last dregs of your coffee pot for a few days (store in fridge) and you should have enough for the marinade.

Step 3: Add a little seasoning 
Add a tablespoon of salt (I like sea salt), a dash of pepper, and (optional) a couple of diced scallions or shallots along with a dash of Worcestershire sauce. Cover the container with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 1 to 3 hours. No longer.

Step 4: Remove and grill 
Pull the steaks out of the container and discard the liquid. Do not rinse. Just apply a favorite dry rub. There are many dry steak rubs available in your grocery aisle. (My favorite is Szeged brand Steak Rub in the cute little black metal can.) Cook your coffee-marinated steaks on a charcoal or gas grill, or broil the meat in the oven. OR cook it on a stovetop...

Through the Grinder
To learn more or buy,
click here!
When my amateur sleuth, coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi, made a version of this dish in Through the Grinder, she cooked it in a cast iron skillet on the top of her stove. The stovetop is a great option, too, because it allows for pan drippings, which means...gravy. So I couldn’t resist having Clare whip up a delish side dish of Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Hearty Coffee Gravy. Yes. Coffee gravy! You can find those recipes in the back of Through the Grinder, too.

To find out more about my culinary mystery series, visit my Coffeehouse Mystery Web site, where you’ll find more recipes, as well.

Cheers, everyone,
have a great weekend!

~ Cleo





☕

To download this recipe in a
free PDF that you can print, save,
or share,
click here.
Click here for the free Recipe PDF.

Eat (and read) with joy!

~ Cleo Coyle

New York Times bestselling author
of 
The Coffeehouse Mysteries &
Haunted Bookshop Mysteries


Alice and Marc in Central Park. 
Together we write as Cleo Coyle. 

Learn more about us here.
Friend us on Facebook here.
Follow us on Twitter here.
Visit our online Coffeehouse here. 



Cleo is now working
on her next book!

Don't miss her news...


To sign up for Cleo Coyle's
Coffeehouse Mystery Newsletter
and get the latest news on
Cleo's books, 
bonus recipe,
and 
fun giveaways!



--------------------------------------------------------------



ENTER OUR 10th ANNIVERSARY

10-BOOK (+ TOTE BAG) GIVEAWAY!


And you can carry your books in this clever
tote bag with a special crossword puzzle 
featuring Mystery Lovers' Kitchen authors!



To enter our giveaway,
you must first use
the form below.

Then be sure to leave a
blog post comment.

You must do both
to be entered.

-------------------------------------------------------


------------------------------------------------------------------


2-WEEKS OF FAVORITE, RETRO POSTS!


We're throwing a two-week party to celebrate a decade of blogging at Mystery Lovers' Kitchen. Every day (through July 13), one of the authors of MLK will post a retro "anniversary" recipe from our blogging past. Stop back each day to see what we post. Each time you leave a comment on a post, you'll earn an extra entry in our drawing and increase your chances of winning our grand prize package. Be sure to use the entry form above to register with our contest *and* be sure to leave a blog post comment. (You must do both to be entered.)


GOOD LUCK and...

HAPPY 10th ANNIVERSARY,

MYSTERY LOVERS' KITCHEN!

-----------------------------------------------------


Saturday, June 18, 2016

Kebobs with Top of the Fair Marinade #Recipe @PegCochran

Summer is grilling time, and I love it!  A good marinade or a spicy rub along with the grill combine to produce tasty but simple and quick meals!  One of my favorite marinades came from my mother-in-law and is called Top of the Fair Marinade.  The Top of the Fair was a restaurant at the 1964-1965 World's Fair in NYC.  Either my mother-in-law found the recipe printed in a magazine somewhere or she managed to worm it out of the chef at the restaurant! (Which she was known to do.)

The restaurant's slogan was "Eat Up in the Air at the Top of the World's Fair."  The restaurant was 120 feet up in the air beneath the Port Authority Heliport and offered panoramic views of the entire Fair and as far afield as the Statue of Liberty, the United Nations, Central Park and New York's many bridges.  The restaurant seated 1100 in its dining room, bar, cocktail lounge and private room and was  completely glass enclosed.

Lunch was a whopping $2.95 and dinner could be had for as little as $4.95.  And if you wanted to avoid NYC traffic on your way to the restaurant, a round-trip ride on the helicopter was $6.95!  According to an article in The New York Herald Tribune, 4/17/65,  " Helicopters heading for the roof look as if they are about to come through the restaurant. The building vibrates but there is little noise. The place is completely sound-proofed and air-conditioned."  According to the Tribune it was "A warm and gay place to be, with the Fair world stretching beyond in every direction."  (For more information and some wonderful pictures visit nywf64.com.)

One of the dishes on the menu was Shashlik Caucasian, lamb on skewer, grilled with spiced onion and tomato quarters.  I suspect the lamb was marinated in the Top of the Fair Marinade.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup oil (olive oil or vegetable oil)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced

Combine all of the above and mix well.




 Marinate your meat (I used chicken cubes but you can use beef, lamb or pork.)



Assemble your veggies--I used tomatoes, red onion, zucchini and mushrooms.


 Skewer your ingredients



Grill to delicious perfection!


Enjoy!

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Grilled Salmon with dill + book #giveaway from author @DarylWoodGerber


From Daryl aka Avery:

FIRST, CONGRATULATIONS 
to Lucy Burdette & Leslie Budewitz on their new releases!!!

FATAL RESERVATIONS and BUTTER OFF DEAD!  

I love the creativity in our group. 
May every fan of Mystery Lovers Kitchen go out 
and buy the book or tell a friend or librarian this week!!!


And now...to celebrate upcoming release of FUDGING THE BOOKS  (a month from now; August), there's a giveaway below...keep reading.

I’m writing the next Cookbook Nook Mystery (#5), and the event in Crystal Cove is the Wild West Extravaganza, so I’m researching all sorts of grilling recipes, barbecue, and fun foods to serve “on the range” or at horse-type events. Fun and tasty!

In the series, I mention titles of a variety of cookbooks. Now, I don’t always purchase these books because that could really rack up the $$—I research and review the  books as I can online and in bookstores—but occasionally, I do purchase one, usually based on sample recipes and photographs I've seen. I found one that I had to have. 

It’s called: Grill Every Day: 125 Fast-track Recipes for Weeknights at the Grill by Diane Morgan. I love to barbecue. I love to find recipes I can use with fish.


This one is divine.

In the book, it is called Alder-Planked Salmon with Lemon-Vodka-Dill Marinade, but I don’t have an alder-plank, so I went without...which would be considered a "tweak."  You can do whatever you choose. No matter what, enjoy the aromas and flavors.

From Grill Every Day: 125 Fast-track Recipes for Weeknights at the Grill by Diane Morgan

Ingredients:

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons vodka
Freshly grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons fresh lemon Juice (whole lemon)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
½ teaspoon kosher or sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 whole side of salmon, about 3 pounds

Directions:

Like I said, I don’t have an alder-plank, and I remember years ago using a cedar plank to cook a salmon, and my husband wasn’t happy. He didn’t like the smoky flavor.

So…

I simply used this recipe as a marinade, and I barbecued, and it was fabulous!!! I think you can grill it or cook this in the oven.

In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, vodka, lemon zest, lemon juice, dill, salt, and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Place the whole salmon fillet, flesh side up, on a large rimmed baking sheet (if you use a cutting board, the oil WILL spill over, so be careful). Pour the marinade evenly over the top. Set aside while the grill or oven heats.


When ready to grill, baste the grill with olive oil, then heat the grill to medium (about 300 degrees). Set the fish on the grill, close the lid, and grill for 5-8 minutes. Using two spatulas (very important), flip the fish.


Grill another 4-6 minutes until the salmon is almost opaque (light pink), yet still moist when tested with a knife.


On a charcoal fire, this all might take longer by 2-4 minutes a side. I have a gas grill.

**In the oven, I’d cook the fish at about 300 degrees, as per above, but I would broil the fish at the end, flesh side up, for about 4 minutes for color.

Slice into portions and serve hot.





Click here to PREORDER
News!

I've set up a Goodreads giveaway for 5 lucky winners to win Fudging the Books. It starts July 15 and ends July 31.  Good luck!

Also I'm having a release party on Facebook on August 4th, so mark your calendars! Look for the event invitation. There will be door prizes!

Also, I'll offering a giveaway August 3rd via my newsletter to someone (or a few someones) who are signed up to receive it! Don't delay. Sign up.



TODAY'S GIVEAWAY:

Today's giveaway, as a thanks for being my fans, you will have your choice of the first three Cookbook Nook Mysteries OR any of the Cheese Shop Mysteries on the shelves + some fun swag. Leave a comment, with your email (cryptic, if you must) so I can contact you!  

And tell me what's your favorite thing on my Fudging the Books cover!


Daryl Wood Gerber aka Avery Aames
Tasty ~ Zesty ~ Dangerous!


Friend Daryl on Facebook
Friend Avery on Facebook
Follow Daryl on Twitter
Follow Avery on Twitter
Follow both of us on Pinterest
Check out our website.

AS GOUDA AS DEAD
order here





FUDGING THE BOOKS, the next Cookbook Nook Mystery, is available for order: order here.



If you haven't done so, sign up for the mailing list 
so you can learn about upcoming events, releases, and contests!