Trim Down Tuesdays: BBQs & Grilling

Slowly slowly Feed Your Sister, is coming back.  Summer is supposed to be about relaxing, time off (if you are a teacher like me), and enjoying the weather...well, for me it's been none of that. I'm working, have no time to cook, am always out and about, and am sort of relaxing in the midst of all that.  I'm trying really hard to work my CSA veggies, and soon fruits, into my posts.  I still have a garlic scape pesto recipe that I want to share, but haven't had time to write it up!  Trim Down Tuesdays are great because Karen Moreno, our in-house nutritionist, posts her own recipes along with great information about various topics.  Today, she'll discuss grilling.  Isn't that what most of us eat a lot of during the summer?! I know I do! I hope you enjoy reading what Karen has to share!  We love to hear your feedback!
This week's question is,What are some tips and rules readers should follow when it comes to grilling on the BBQ? Here's where Karen takes over...
I don’t know about you but I love BBQ’s in the summer, its one of my favorite summer foods and the best thing about it is that it’s healthy too (as long as you follow some of my tips below). Grilling fish such as tuna steaks and salmon can make for a healthy lunch or dinner and if your grilling meats, stick to lean (turkey breast) burgers, white meat chicken, and lean cuts of steak such as round, sirloin, and flank steak. Also remember that you can grill tomatoes, onions, corn and pretty much any vegetable you like just remember to limit the amount of red meat (and hotdogs) you have this summer.
One of the problems though with grilling is that grilling meats at high temperatures can create mutagens known as heterocyclic amines (HCA) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) which can lead to cancer. But don’t worry, if you follow these tips you can grill safely this summer:

• Avoid cooking meats at high temperatures for a long time
• Marinating the meat before cooking it can remove compounds that turn into HCA’s (it doesn’t matter how long you marinate for or what’s in it. Even dipping the meat right before grilling it seems to help)
• Keep the meat on the grill for minimal time at lower temperatures
• Microwaving the meat before cooking has also been found to eliminate up to 90% of the HCA’s if you microwave for 1 ½-2 min (and throw out the juices) then throw onto the grill
• Seafood and fish have less HCA’s then meat
• Keep the meat moist- drying it out and over grilling creates more HCA
• To switch things up a bit, try baking, roasting, or stir frying meats because they create the least HCA
• Flip the meat often-flipping every 6 minutes (per side) vs. 10 cuts the HCA production by 70%
• Skip the drippings-which contain more HCA then the meat itself
• Veggie burgers and cooked vegetables create barely any HCA’s and cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower and brussel sprouts may actually help the liver detoxify HCA’s.

Side Tip:
You would be surprised to learn that dark meat chicken with skin contains more calories and fat than a hot dog and hamburger:
BBQ chicken (2 pieces) 390 calories, 20 grams of fat
Hot dog contains 260 calories, 17 grams of fat
Hamburger contains 245 calories, 10 grams of fat
So, always opt for white meat chicken with no skin, hamburgers made from extra lean beef and if you must have a hotdog, choose the low fat low sodium variety.
Here's today's recipe!
Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Skewers (serves 4)
(Time Saving Tip: You can buy premade chicken skewers at your local supermarket (and marinade on your own) or make your own at home.)
8 wooden skewers
16 oz white meat chicken, sliced into 2 oz strips
4 Red bell peppers, cut into 2 inch squares
2 medium onions, quartered
For Sauce:
½ cup teriyaki sauce
4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp light soy sauce
½ tsp each: garlic powder, onion powder, pepper
Thread chicken onto skewer, alternating between chicken cubes, peppers, and onions. Set aside.  In a bowl, mix all ingredients for sauce.  Brush sauce over chicken skewers and pour remaining over skewers. Cover and refrigerate for one hour (or less if necessary).  Heat grill and grill chicken skewers for 6-7 minutes per side, or until meat is thoroughly cooked.  Serve with a mixed green salad!
 Nutrition Content (Per 2 skewers with 4 oz chicken): 273 calories 4.5 g fat 1.25 g saturated fat 39 g protein 18.7 g carbohydrates 3.3 g fiber 1637.5 mg sodium 625 mg potassium
-Karen Moreno, MS, RD, CDN 

Turkey Pesto Burger

This might be the easiest and most tasty recipe ever!!  It's only 3 ingredients and takes minimal work on your part.  Sorry about not having a photo, I'll take one next time I make this, which should be very soon!  Each patty has a points+ value of 5.  Lots of flavor and protein! Woohoo!

Turkey Pesto Burger

(serves 5)

1 pound lean ground turkey meat

1 cup shallots, chopped

1/4 cup pesto sauce or this dairy-free pesto (store bought is fine too)

Spray a large saute pan with non-stick spray and cook shallots until translucent, about 10 minutes over medium heat.  Transfer shallots to a glass bowl and let cool.  Once cooled, add ground turkey and pesto and mix with clean hands until combined.  Form 5 patties and cook them on the BBQ or if you are indoors use a grill pan.  Cook each side for about 7-8 minutes.  Serve burger with a slice of provolone.  It goes really well with some Creamy Jalacado Spread. 

Brisket anyone??

So Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, is quickly approaching and most Jews eat brisket on the eve of the holiday. It's usually made with loads of ketchup, spices, onions, carrots, etc. My family on the other hand either doesn't eat this typical dish known to most Jewish families so I've always heard about brisket but never made one.  After seeing a recipe in this month's Food Network magazine last week I thought that I'd try making one.  I wanted to make the brisket with a twist, so I went for a spicy pulled brisket burger.  The leftover meat can be used for beef tacos or over cous cous or quinoa.


Here's a photo of the brisket before going into the oven.

Spicy Pulled Brisket Sliders
This recipe was adapted from Smitten Kitchen's Southwestern Pulled Brisket recipe.
makes enough for 4 buns


1/2 pound beef brisket (See Note Below)
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
4 garlic cloves roughly chopped
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon chili powder (omit if you don't want it that spicy)
1/4 apple cider vinegar
1 12 oz. can of diced tomatoes

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup store bought bbq sauce 
3 chiles (from a can) in adobo sauce (if you want it less spicy use 1)
4 potato buns


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season both sides of the brisket with salt and pepper.  Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in an oven proof pot on high.  Sear brisket in the pot for 5 minutes on each side.  Remove brisket and place on a plate.  In the pot place the onions, garlic, cumin, coriander, chile powder, salt and pepper to taste, and apple cider vinegar.  Stir with a wooden spoon to scrape up the pan, when vinegar is almost all gone add the brisket back into the pot. 
Pour in the  the water, diced tomatoes with the sauce, brown sugar, chiles in adobo, and bbq sauce.  Stir until well combined.  Cover the pot with parchment paper and then with tin foil.  If the pot has a cover place the cover on top of the foil. Place in the over and cook for about 3-4 hours, until meat is super tender and able to be pulled away with a fork. (If you need to leave the house for some reason, like I did, put your oven on 200 degrees and leave it alone for a few hours until you come back, as long as the pot is filled with liquid and sealed with foil and a top it should be good to go! Thankfully my apartment was still standing when I got home!)


Remove the meat from the pot and let it cool.  When cool enough to handle fork the meat into shreds.  Pour cooled sauce into a blender and blend until smooth.  
Place a large scoop of shredded beef on each bun and serve immediately drizzle with blended sauce if desired.  Serve with coleslaw or salad.


NOTE:  When I went to the butcher to buy the brisket they only had huge 2 lb pieces. I asked the butcher if he could cut it in half and I was able to purchase that.  When I got home I cut the 1 lb in half again and only prepared that much.  I put the rest in the freezer for another time.  This recipe is for a half pound piece of brisket.

Lunch for me and a friend for tomorrow! No soggy buns here!

Tex Mex Burgers

My friend makes these burgers and I thought I'd adapt it a bit and share it with everyone!  They are healthy, full of protein, and very tasty!  You don't even need to add salt! 

Turkey Tex Mex Burgers (serves 6)
1 pound ground lean turkey or chicken
1/2 cup canned black beans (drained and rinsed)
3/4 cup canned corn (drained and rinsed)
4 tablespoons BBQ sauce
1/2 cup cooked quinoa (red or white)
1 cup finely chopped cilantro

Combine ingredients together in a bowl and divide into 6 patties.  Mixture will be sticky so wet your hands before making the patties.  Grill, pan fry, or broil burgers for about 5-6 minutes on each side. Enjoy with some more of your favorite BBQ sauce with some roasted or grilled veggies for a delicious healthy meal. 

Calorie Count per burger: about 220 calories
Protein Count per burger: about 18 grams protein

Tex Mex Turkey Burger, roasted zucchini, and sauteed spinach

Cilantro and Shrimp

I don't know about you but I seriously love cilantro!!  It's almost equal to the love I have for quinoa.  I know many people who can't stand the taste of cilantro, but honestly you guys are missing out.  The flavor is Spring-like, fresh, and clean.  It's really great on seafood.  Today I am sharing with you a recipe for broiled shrimp with cilantro.

Broiled Shrimp with Cilantro
1 bunch cilantro
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
zest of one lemon
crushed red pepper (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 pound shrimp (cleaned and de-veined)

In a mini food processor blend all the ingredients except the shrimp together.  Pour the cilantro mixture over the shrimp in a bowl or baggie and let marinade for 30 minutes in the fridge.   When ready to cook, preheat broiler on high.  Place shrimp on a baking sheet and broil in the oven for about 4 minutes on each side.  When shrimp turns pink and is firm to the touch it is cooked through.

Miso Butter Corn

The other day I went to Momofuku Noodle Bar for lunch with a friend.  They are constantly changing up the menu so it's always nice to go there every so often to see what they are serving that day.  On the menu was this corn dish sauteed in miso butter, it was served with scallions and roasted potato.  It was amazing, the miso butter gave the corn a great twist!  AFter devouring the corn I said to my friend, "I'm definitely going to try to recreate this at home one day very soon!"  It seemed pretty easy actually.  Miso, butter, corn, scallions, and potatoes.  Simple as can be!


I went for it.  I bought farm fresh corn at Whole Foods and also picked up some white miso paste, scallions and unsalted butter.  I dropped the potatoes from the dish because it was really the corn that I was after.  I couldn't care less about the potatoes.  Here are some photos of the process.

Miso Butter Corn (serves 4)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature

2 tablespoons white miso paste

green parts of 2 scallions sliced thinly

4 ears of corn, kernels stripped

Combine butter and miso paste in a small bowl with a fork.  Place stripped corn kernels in a large saute pan, along with miso butter.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.  Saute on medium heat for about 3 minutes, add scallions, and cook for 2-3 more minutes.  Enjoy!

One night for dinner I had the corn with a simple grilled chicken breast.

The next day I had leftovers for lunch!  I saved this compartmentalized takeout container for this purpose, it's really a great alternative to a laptop lunch box.  Which someday I will buy for myself! I myself am organized and so why shouldn't my lunches be as well!

BBQ...and more Quinoa

Another quinoa creation made by me, I call it non other than, Asian Style Quinoa. It contains edamame, cilantro, sauteed shitake mushrooms, slivered almonds, toasted sesame seeds, and 2 cups cooked quinoa.

Asian Style Quinoa Dressing

(This is enough to pour over 2 cups cooked quinoa)

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

2 shallots finely chopped.

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoons peanut butter or tahini

1/2 cup sesame oil

1/2 cup peanut or vegetable oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

Mix all ingredients together and pour over quinoa salad before serving.

Errol eating the quinoa...he's a first time quinoa tryer and now he's a quinoa lover! Sous Chef Seth enjoying the quinoa as well! Bacon Wrapped Scallops made by Seth

Seth also made Mexican style corn smothered in sour cream and shredded cojita cheese sprinkled with lime, AKA Elote....who knew it would be so easy to make something so good! Let me tell you, it was f-cking amazing!!! I think I ate it up in 2.5 minutes! YUMMY!

Aioli on Your Burger?

Roasted Red Pepper Aioli

6 garlic cloves

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cups light mayonnaise

Salt and pepper to taste

1 15oz jar of roasted red peppers, drained

Finely chop garlic cloves in a food processor. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Then add the mayonnaise. Add salt and pepper to taste and blend until smooth. (This is your basic aioli.)

To make red pepper aioli, blend peppers and 1 cup basic aioli in processor until mixture is smooth. Can be made 1 day ahead, keep covered and refridgerated.

Spinach Artichoke Chicken Burgers

Spinach Artichoke Chicken Burgers

2 pounds ground white meat chicken

1 box frozen spinach, defrosted with the water squeezed out (use cheese cloth)

1 can artichokes in water, drained well

salt and pepper to taste

Place drained spinach and artichokes in a food processor and process until ingredients are chopped finely. Add chicken, salt, and pepper, and spinach artichoke mixture into a bowl until well combined. Make mixture into about 10-12 patties and grill on the BBQ! Serve on a toasted potato bun with caramalized onions and roasted red pepper aioli sauce, ENJOY!!

NOTE: To know if you have enough flavor (salt and pepper) in the burgers, make a mini tests burger on a pan and taste, adjust accordingly.

After cooking they looked like this...

Even the Dubie dog enjoyed!!

Father's Day

Hey Everyone, here's a culinary slideshow, well kinda, of the meal my family and two others consumed during the holiday that is Father's day! Enjoy!

The masterpiece that is my creation.

Romanian Kebabs (made by mom) and Store bought Sausages

My Spinach Artichoke Chicken Burgers

The table from one angle. Because of the sun it's hard to really see, but there's a potato salad of sorts on the bottom left and to the right of it some fried eggplant in a sauce. In the center of the table there's mom's homemade hummus.

The table from another angle. You can an arugula and fennel salad, which I obviously didn't eat.

Roasted Asparagus (that roasted a tad too long)

Caramelized Onions

Roasted Red Pepper Aioli

Farm Fresh Corn

Tehini with Parsley made by mom

Greek Style Quinoa Salad

My sister, yeah, the one I feed, who is now obsessed with my quinoa salad, here is the infamous sista!

Dessert: Farm Fresh Strawberries, Best Banana Cake Ever, and Blueberry Crumb Cake

Momofuku Copycat Compost Cookies

My little cousin, and below is his dad, eating one of my cookies

Scary, I know!

BBQ on Father's Day???

I've been pretty busy over the past week, hence no new posts....sorry! Please don't fret, this weekend is Father's Day and I plan to do a lot of preparing and cooking for the BBQ my parents are having in honor of the fathers.

Here's a sneak peek of some of the menu:

-Spinach Artichoke Chicken Burgers served on a potato bun with caramelized onions and roasted red pepper aioli

-Greek Style Quinoa Salad (I'll be sure to take a picture of it this time!)

-and some other stuff that I may or may not post

I might even bring some compost cookies for dessert since I have a whole bag of dough balls in my freezer that I shouldn't be eating.

Look out for the burger recipe and maybe a few others! Happy Father's Day!

Quinoa, Take 2

NOTE: This photo is of the salad minus the mixed greens! Now you have a visual!

So I was invited to my friend's house for a BBQ and of course I offered to make something to bring. She said make a salad. Lately I've been eating a lot of quinoa and actually looking for it more and more on menus. I haven't had much luck finding many restaurants that serve quinoa. Oh well, I was going to make a salad that contained quinoa for the BBQ. I went with a Greek themed salad. I bought red inca quinoa at the supermarket for the salad. Now, not sure if you remember that last time I made quinoa, but if you click here, you'll remind yourself that it wasn't a big hit. I finally can say that I think I just overcooked it, if that's even possible.

I totally forgot to take a photo of this recipe, but I swear I made the salad and literally there was not a leaf left in the bowl! Everyone enjoyed it very much and my views of quinoa have changed forever. I can't wait to make this salad again!

Here's the list of ingredients you'll need to make this easy, healthy, protein-packed, light summery, and perfect-for-a-bbq salad!

Greek Style Quinoa Salad (serves 8 people)

1 cup uncooked red inca quinoa (if you prefer white quinoa that's fine too!)

1 container of mixed greens

1 red bell pepper

1 container of grape tomatoes cut in halves or quarters

1 english cucumber peeled and chopped

1 can chickpeas rinsed and drained

1 bunch parsley chopped

1 block of your favorite feta (I used Israeli feta)

Greek Dressing

the juice of 1 and a half lemons

3/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon dried oregano (optional)

1. In a pot bring 2 cups of water and 1 cup of the quinoa to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and then cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes. Pour cooked quinoa in a sieve and then rinse quinoa with cold water to cool off. Drain and set aside.

2. Place the mixed greens into a large salad bowl. Cut the vegetables to your desired size and place in the salad bowl. Place chickpeas in the bowl as well.

3. Place cooked quinoa and parsley in the salad bowl. Break up the feta with clean hands and place in the salad.

4. To make the dressing combine ingredients and pour over salad. Toss to combine ingredients and enjoy!

And the winning marinade is....

Well, there's no winner actually...the past two dinners I had Thursday and tonight, Korean steak and piri piri chicken, are both rated very highly on my yummy meter! I did learn a few things however.

First of all, when cooking with sugary marinades, such as the Korean Marinade My Way, I do not recommend using your grill pan, I'd stick to using a real BBQ. I basically ruined my grill pan, but I guess after having it for 7 years, it's probably time to buy a new one anyways, right??

Second, I'd make both marinades more spicy!! I like spice and once the proteins were cooked I didn't really taste the spice as much as I did when I tasted the marinades pre-cooking.

Thirdly, I highly recommend marinading for at least 1 day before cooking! Especially for the steak!

Fourth, I sliced up the shell steak that was cooked along with the spare ribs in the Korean marinade, and it made a great protein topper for a spinach arugula salad with grape tomatoes and leftover potatoes (recipe to come Monday).

Here's what the dinners looked like: Sorry, I forgot to take a photo of the salad!

Marinades

I'm sorry I've been a little MIA the past week or so, between Passover and traveling and trying to get back into the swing of things I'm a little lost. I know some of you are probably sick of seeing that Matzoh Cake staring at you every time you open up Feed Your Sister but today I have some nice marinade recipes to share with you!

Since I'd been traveling I took this afternoon to refill the fridge/freezer and bought some chicken legs and breasts and some beef spare ribs and shell steaks. A long time ago I saw Danny Boome's show, Rescue Chef, make this amazing sounding chicken marinade. I adjusted the recipe a tad.

Spicy Piri Piri Sauce

• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 red peppers, seeded and roughly chopped
• 2-3 chili peppers like Fresno or serrano (depends on how spicy you want it!)
• 1 cup fresh parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• (This made enough to marinade 5 chicken legs, 5 chicken breasts, and 1 shell steak)

In a food processor add lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, red pepper, chiles, parsley, paprika, red wine vinegar and oil. Process until it becomes a paste. Season with salt and pepper. Divide meat into resealable plastic bags. Pour marinade into bags and seal. Turn the meat around in the bags to distribute the marinade. Place meat in the refrigerator and let it marinate for at least 1 hour and up to 1 day. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Remove meat from bags with tongs and drain well. Place on grill or grill pan, skin side down first, and grill for about 15 minutes on each side turning occasionally until cooked through. (You might need to do it in batches if grill is not big enough.)

The other recipe I made was based upon Korean steak sauce. It's usually sweet and contains soy sauce and brown sugar. I made my own spicy version of a Korean marinade. Here's the recipe!

Korean Marinade My Way

1 cup soy sauce

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup mirin (rice wine)

1/2 cup water

1 small onion roughly chopped

2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree. Pour marinade onto steak or chicken and let sit in the fridge for at least 3 hours, but preferably overnight. Grill meat on the BBQ or grill pan until cooked to your desired taste. Enjoy!!