Banh mi burgers

If you are not familiar with the Vietnamese sandwich the Banh Mi, let me tell you, it's amazing.  One of my all time favorites.  I've tried many renditions, but traditionally it's made with pork and has a pickled slaw of carrots & daikon with tons of cilantro and jalapeno.  It's served on an airy, light baguette bread/roll with a crispy crust (not dense!). 

I've created a little East-meets-West situation by turning the sandwich into a burger.  I've done a half-beef, half-pork combo for the meat and it's really nice with the lemongrass, garlic & ginger, etc.  I love this Asian twist on a burger - it's quick to make, packed with veggies, and adds some interesting flava-flav to dinner.

For the julienne of carrot and daikon, I highly recommend this little gadget - a julienne peeler.  It makes beautiful, perfect thin strips of whatever you use it on.  It's inexpensive, so quick and fun to use!


Serves 4

1/4 c. white vinegar
3 T. sugar
1/2 c. julienne of carrot (or shredded)
1 c. julienne of daikon (or shredded)

1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1 t. minced lemongrass
1 t. minced garlic
1 t. minced ginger
2 t. Asian fish sauce
1/2 t. salt
fresh ground pepper

1/2 cup chopped cilantro
4 buns, or light crispy baguette, cut into 4 sections for buns
Persian cucumber slices
Thinly sliced jalapeño
Mayonnaise (Kewpie brand recommended!)

Combine vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan.  Heat on high until boiling, stirring until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat and pour over shredded carrot and daikon.  Allow to stand 20 minutes, stirring occasionally for even coverage.  Drain veggies very well and set aside.

Preheat grill on medium high for 10 minutes. 

In a bowl, combine beef, pork, lemongrass, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, salt & pepper.  Mix very well with your hands until all ingredients are well incorporated.  Divide into 4 patties and drizzle or spray with oil for grilling.

Grill patties about 5 minutes per side or until a thermometer reads 145 degrees.  Remove from grill, cover with foil and allow to rest 5-10 minutes.  Grill buns or baguette lightly until toasty and warm.

Add chopped cilantro to carrot & daikon mixture and stir to combine.  Spread bread or buns with mayo.  Place cucumber slices on the bottom, then add the patty and top generously with carrot & daikon and jalapeño slices.

Grilled salmon tacos with peach & cucumber salsa

My love affair with the taco continues here on Lieslicious...

These puppies are perfect for summer grilling...all the fillings are in prime season, salmon included.  Yes, fish does have a "season" and it's full-on salmon time right 'bout now.  

The fish pairs perfectly with a sweet-crunchy-creamy peach & cucumber salsa packed with all sortsa summer produce.  It's such a healthy & delicious quick dinner...one of my absolute favorites!

Serves 4

1 pound wild salmon with skin, about 1 inch thick, cut into 2 equal pieces
2 T. olive oil
1/4 c. chopped fresh oregano
1 t. chili powder
kosher salt & fresh ground pepper

1/4 c. plain Greek yogurt
1/4 c. mayonnaise

1 peach - diced
1 medium tomato - diced
2 T. chopped cilantro
2 green onions - greens & white chopped
1/2 c. cucumber - diced
1/2 t. red or green jalapeno - minced
1 T. lime juice
a couple pinches kosher salt
1/2 avocado - diced
 
corn tortillas
Cholula (or your favorite hot sauce)
lime wedges

Preheat grill on medium-high for at least 10 minutes.  Drizzle salmon pieces on both sides with olive oil.  Sprinkle flesh side with chopped oregano, chili powder, and salt & pepper.

In a small bowl, mix Greek yogurt and mayonnaise together and stir well to combine.

In another medium bowl, combine the peach, tomato, cilantro, green onion, cucumber, lime juice and salt.  Stir to mix flavors.  Gently fold in diced avocado.

Oil grill grates and place salmon, skin side down, on grill.  Close lid and cook for 4 minutes.  Flip, close lid and cook 4 more minutes.  Remove from grill, cover with foil and let rest 5-10 minutes.  When ready to serve, remove skin and coarsely break up fish for the taco filling.  Sprinkle with a little more salt.

An easy way to warm up a stack of tortillas is to wrap them in a damp paper towel and microwave for 20-30 seconds.  Remove them, carefully unwrap them (steam may be hot!) shuffle the stack a bit, re-wrap & heat for 15 more seconds.  They will keep warm for awhile wrapped in aluminum foil.

To assemble, fill corn tortillas with a little fish, a bit of white sauce and a generous spoonful of salsa.  A little squeeze of lime and a couple dashes of Cholula (or whatevs you like) and you are good to go!

Southeast Asian swordfish skewers

The summer grilling extravaganza doesn’t necessarily have to equal a ton of burgers and hot dogs...fish is a wonderful thing to throw over the outdoor flames.  However, it can be tricky to perfect, which is why I love to use a hearty, steak-y variety like swordfish (mahi mahi or wahoo work well, too).  It’s much more forgiving than some of the more delicate types and is actually kind of hard to mess up - just resist the temptation to overcook it!  Fish will always continue to cook a couple minutes after you pull it off the grill, so it may feel like you are being premature, but trust me...knowing this will give you nicely cooked, moist fish every time.

I looove this southeast Asian marinade (it would be great on chicken or pork, too).  It’s super flavorful and it blends up in minutes.  This meal is healthy, lean protein, low fat  AND and a beautiful presentation…the perfect meal for your summer evening!

Serves 4

1 1/2 pounds swordfish - skin removed and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
1 T. lemongrass - tender inner stalks, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic - roughly chopped
1 T. ginger - roughly chopped
1/4 c. olive oil
1 t. soy sauce
1 t. fish sauce
2 T. rice wine vinegar
2 t. sambal oelek (raw Asian chili paste)
1/2 c. cilantro - roughly chopped

kosher salt & fresh ground pepper
2 limes - halved
Aleppo pepper (optional)

In a mini food processor or blender, combine the lemongrass, garlic, ginger, olive oil, soy sauce, fish sauce, vinegar, sambal oelek, and cilantro.  Blend until smooth.

Place swordfish in a medium glass bowl.  Pour marinade over fish, cover, and place in refrigerator for at least one hour, up to 3 hours.

When ready to cook, preheat your grill on high for at least 10 minutes.  Thread fish onto skewers leaving a little space between pieces of fish.  Season liberally with kosher salt & pepper. (note: if using bamboo skewers, soak them in water at least a half hour before using)

Turn grill heat to medium high and oil grill grates.  Place fish on grill and cook, with lid closed, a total of 6 minutes, rotating every couple of minutes to cook evenly.  While cooking fish, place lime halves, cut side down, on grill and cook 3-4 minutes, without moving, until grill marks appear.

Remove fish and limes from grill. To serve, squeeze limes over fish & sprinkle with Aleppo pepper, if desired.

Grilled caprese bruschetta

I like to think of this as twisted caprese salad meets a fancy French bread pizza.  Grilling the tomatoes for this dish make them super sweet & juicy and it is the perfect combo with the toasty, crunchy bread.   And burrata...what can I say...? I love you so!  It translates as "buttered" in Italian so you know it really makes anything you put it on special.  If you can't find burrata in your area (and I am truly bummed for you if you can't), sub in fresh mozzarella slices.

It's a great main vegetarian main course served with a crisp green salad, or a really impressive appetizer when cut into smaller pieces.  It's all done in minutes on the grill so you don't have to heat up the kitchen & it showcases some of the best of summer flavors.

Serves 8 as a main, 16 as an appetizer

One French baguette
Extra virgin olive oil
1 dry pint small cherry or grape tomatoes
8 oz. ball of burrata
1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves
sea salt
fresh ground pepper
more olive oil for drizzling

Preheat grill to medium-high heat for 10 minutes.

Cut baguette in half crosswise.  Slice each half horizontally/lengthwise so you have 4 large, flat pieces.  Brush generously with extra virgin olive oil.

Take 2, 12x18 inch pieces of aluminum foil and stack them on top of each other.  Double fold over each side of the foil creating a rim around all edges - approx. 8x14 inches.  We are creating a little foil “pan” to cook the tomatoes on the grill with an edge so they don't roll off :).

Grill bread, cut side down, about 3-4 minutes, until nicely toasted & slightly charred with definite grill marks.  Remove from grill.

Place foil on grill and add tomatoes.  Drizzle with a 1 T. of olive oil and stir.  Close cover & grill 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until skins just begin to split.  Carefully remove foil from grill (I slide it onto a sheet pan).

Divide burrata between the four pieces of bread.  Pile tomatoes on top of burrata & bread.   Finish with roughly torn basil leaves, sea salt & fresh ground pepper and another generous drizzle of olive oil.  Slice to desired size & enjoy!

Fennel & citrus grilled chicken - Memorial Day inspiration!

I know it's easy to default to easy-peasy boneless, skinless chicken on the grill (no shame in that - it has it's time & place) but if we are talking true, crispy-on-the-outside, juicy-on-the-inside, finger-lickin' good BBQ chicken, you definitely need to go for the bone-in, skin-on bird.

True, it takes a little more tending, but the efforts are well worth it.  I always use indirect heat (see recipe) when cooking this kind of chicken - there are less flare-ups and the potential for blackened, burnt skin is minimized.

This marinade is really delicious, too - the fennel is amazing.  It calls for a mortar & pestle for grinding up the whole fennel seeds.  If you don't have one here's your excuse to invest (I prefer porcelain or granite to wood). They are a great addition to any well-stocked kitchen & easy to find online.  Grinding up whole spices yourself is so much more flavorful than store-bought and kind of fun (you can pound & grind some aggression out).  You can also whip up an amazing pesto or even guacamole in one of these guys.

So, grab a cold one, head outside and settle into your place tendin' the grill...it's a great place to chat during your Memorial Day cookout.

Serves 4-6

2 t. whole fennel seed
1 T. chopped garlic
1 t. kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
zest of 1 lemon
1 t. orange zest
2 T. chopped fresh oregano
3 T. olive oil
4 whole chicken legs (thigh and drumstick attached) - about 2 1/2 pounds

Using a mortar & pestle, pound fennel seeds until coarsely broken.  Add chopped garlic, salt, pepper, lemon & orange zest, oregano and olive oil to mortar bowl.  Grind ingredients around the sides and bottom of the mortar with the pestle creating a thick, slightly chunky paste.

Rub chicken legs with the fennel & herb marinade.  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.

Preheat your grill to high for at least 10 minutes.  Let it get good & hot!

Remove chicken from refrigerator and place on a sheet pan.  Season lightly with a little more kosher salt.

Rub hot grill grates with an oil soaked paper towel & tongs.  Place chicken legs on grill over high heat.  Sear skin about 3 minutes per side - we are looking for some nice grill marks on both sides.  Put out any flare ups with a spray bottle of water.

Turn off the heat under half of the grill (or move coals to one side) and place chicken on the unheated side.  Leave the other half of the grill's heat on high.  Close lid and cook chicken about 20 minutes over indirect heat, turning frequently.  

Remove chicken when an instant-read thermometer reads 165 degrees and juices run clear.  Let chicken rest 10 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

peach-chipotle BBQ sauce

It's mid-September and we are moving towards a time when two very lovely things will no longer be available to us: 

1) the availability of fresh peaches, and
2) warm, easy weather that makes us want to cook & eat outside.

Now, of course, you can make this sauce with defrosted frozen peaches any time you want - no problem.  And you can use it on a ton of things you cook inside your cozy kitchen year round.  But maybe you want to take advantage of this recipe this weekend and hang on to the relaxed, easygoing mood of summer(ish) evenings while you can.

I like to use this sauce on baby back ribs (duh!), bone-in, skin-on BBQ chicken...pork tenderloin...even tofu!  It kinda goes with every protein on the block.

Makes 4 1/2 cups

1 T. olive oil
1 onion - chopped
3 cloves garlic - chopped
1/2 c. bourbon (optional)
1, 15 oz. can broth (beef, chicken, or veggie)
1 c. apple cider vinegar
1 t. dry mustard
1 t. mild, smoked paprika
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 c. ketchup
3 c. chopped peaches (about 2 fresh or you can use frozen)
1-2 canned chipotle peppers - minced (I just use 1 for a mild smokiness - use as many as you want it you want spicier.  They are super potent, so be careful!)
1 t. salt
fresh ground pepper

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat and saute onion until transparent - about 7 minutes.  Add garlic and cook 1 minute.  Add bourbon and simmer until liquid is reduced by half. 

Add remaining ingredients - the broth, vinegar, spices, Worcestershire, brown sugar, ketchup, chipotle peppers, peaches, and S & P.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer about 2 hours.

Remove from heat.  Using an immersion blender, puree mixture until smooth.  If you don’t have an immersion blender (you should get one!), transfer to blender and puree in batches.  Give it a taste and season with more S & P if necessary. 

Chicken paillards with tomato, olive & goat cheese

Five ingredients, fifteen minutes to make.  Healthy, easy and the quintessential taste of summer.  Need I say more?

Serves 4

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts – sliced in half horizontally

½ c. kalamata olives – roughly chopped

½ pint heirloom cherry tomatoes - halved

3 oz. crumbled goat cheese

¼ basil – chiffonade

Preheat grill to medium high.  Coat chicken paillards with olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper.  Grill over medium high heat 1-2 minutes per side.  Remove and cover with foil.  Let rest 10 minutes.

Toss together tomatoes, olives, and basil with a little olive oil.  Gently stir in goat cheese crumbles.

Top chicken with tomato mixture and drizzle with pan juices.

Lemony herb-grilled shrimp skewers

This fresh and simple shrimp appetizer is a lovely homemade alternative to something store-bought.  It’s a perfect light starter to offer if you want to pump-up the fancy factor a bit for a dinner party. Plus they make a gorgeous presentation! I also serve them tossed with butter lettuce for a beautiful salad.

Serves  4-6

1 pound jumbo (16-20 ct.) shrimp peeled & deveined

2 cloves garlic – finely chopped

1 T. fresh rosemary –  chopped

1 T. fresh thyme –  chopped

¼ c. fresh parsley – chopped

Zest of two lemons

½ t. salt

fresh ground pepper

generous pinch red pepper flakes

1/3 c. olive oil

Rustic bread – sliced thickly

One lemon, cut in half

Note: If using bamboo skewers, soak in water at least 30 minutes while preparing shrimp so they don’t burn while grilling.