Chicken skewers

These are super simple skewers with a great flavor. The picture above is unfortunately the only one I remembered to take at the end, and I`m not sure where some of the others are hiding, so I`ll have to make this again soon. Darn. :-)

You can make this the day before and then just let it marinate until you are ready to grill. Great for parties. Also, I had been planning to see how it handled freezing, but they were so good there were none left. I will try it next time though.

If you do have any leftovers, they are great with either hummus or greek yogurt in a pita pocket or tortilla for lunch. Throw in some greens and you have something yummy and filling.

I found the original recipe online while looking for something new to do to my chicken. They had a chutney with it, which I left out, but if it sounds interesting, check it out.


What you need:

400-500 g of chicken. Either I used the precut pieces to save time, but normally would use tenders
150 g greek yogurt (or regular, plain if you can`t find any)
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 to 1/3 cup diced onion
1 tsp grated fresh ginger. If you don`t have any, you can use 1/8 tsp of ground
1 tsp ground cumin (Kreuzkümmel)
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp turmeric (Kurkuma)
2 Tbls lemon juice

Either cut your chicken into bite size pieces, or use the pre-cut.

Get a large zipping bag and put it inside a bowl (to help hold the shape while you add things)

Add the yogurt, lemon juice, garlic and onion. Squeeze the bag to mix well (or if you prefer, pre-mix everything in a bowl. I try to do everything as compactly as possible in my small kitchen)

Add the chicken to the bag

Mix the spices in a small bowl and then add to the bag

Seal and mix around to coat. Place in the fridge at least 4 hours, or overnight.

For the skewers, make sure you soak them in water at least 20 minutes before adding the chicken.

Grill.

That`s it, easy, right? :-) Serve with a salad, pita and hummus (I also did vegetable skewers)

Pepper Venison Escalope with Split Grilled Brocolli - AKA "Thow stuff on grill"

Hi everyone, I'm out of town with the kiddos so poor hubby has to make his own dinner. Before you feel too sorry for him though, I did completely stock the fridge with both homemade and ready meals for him, along with all the sides.  Of course, with the fridges we all have, it didn't last very long, but I gave him a kick start anyway :)

 

So here is the hubby, with enough time on his hands to post a great sounding recipe (hopefully he cleaned up the kitchen too!) :p

 

Hubby:

Here is the scenario: the wife is away with the kids and you are going to need to cook something for dinner. You want something manly. What do you do?

Usually when one thinks of manly culinary arts, the barbecue comes to mind. A vision of hamburgers and hot dogs grilled at a party is easy to conjure.

What a disapointment! These processed foods are the metrosexuals of the manly culinary repertoire! Repeat after me - real men eat wild game.

For those just coming around to the ideas, it helps to get into the spirit. Try saying "Wild Game" to yourself to pump yourself up. It sounds better when you yell it sort of like Duran Duran* in Wild Boys. WILD GAME! WILD GAME! WILD GAME!

Ted Nugent isn't returning my calls so I was forced to restrict my hunt to the local Coop grocery store. It is apparently hunting season in Switzerland and on offer were venison. The packaging helpfully allows you to identify which meat is from Stags and which from Does. I wanted to avoid having Sound of Music songs in my head while grilling so I thoughtfully chose a Stag escalope. The package clearly informs the consumer that it is indeed wild game. WILD GAME!

Nobody is exactly sure what the supply chain is like that gets wild game prepackaged into the fridge at our local Coop (some sort of hunting co-op?) but do not dwell on this. Keep your eye on the prize - WILD GAME!

This meal was planned as a "throw stuff on grill and cook until done" which is a great way to avoid recipe cards and other womanly pursuits. Despite what you may have heard, real men DO eat vegetables so make sure some sort of vegetable is included in the stuff that you throw on the grill. Don't think about it - just grab something at random while walking through the produce section. I grabbed a big head of broccoli since the stalk makes a nice handle which is easy to grab.

For those who need a recipe to operate, here ya go:

Ingredients:

• 250g venison escalope - Stag or Doe (a deer, a female deer...)
• Venison Marinade
• Lemon Juice - 1 gs (gs = good squirt, approximately a tablespoon)
• Worchestestestestchire Sauce - 1 tbsp
• Soy Sauce - 1 tbsp (I use low sodium)
• Freshly ground pepper - 1/2 tbsp
• Vegetable Oil (canola or sunflower oil) - 3 tbsp
• A vegetable too big to fall through the grate of the grill (I chose broccoli)
• Vegetable dressing (this basically works with all vegetables)
• Olive Oil
• Cracked Pepper
• a dash of salt

Instructions

1. Mix together venison marinade ingredients in a shallow bowl

 

2. Add venison

3. Put in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

4. Watch sports

5. Watch more sports

6. Light grill.

7. Prep veggie - If vegetable is large and thick like a head of cabbage, cauliflower or broccoli - cut it in half.

 

8. Coat veggie with olive oil

9. Add cracked pepper to veggie

10. Optional - Wrap vegetable in aluminum foil

11. Throw vegetable on grill with medium heat and close the lid

12. After 5 minutes or so throw on venison

 

13. Cook until done

14. Serve

Do real men drink wine? If you are the kind of real man that drinks wine, let me suggest a wine pairing - Azabache Reserva 2008. It's a Spanish red with a fruity as opposed to overpowering taste. It goes well with this dish by both being full bodied, but also sweet and subtle to complement the rich and flavorful WILD GAME!

Serve with a salad and enjoy!
 

 

 

 

Well, thank you to my husband for writing up and taking pictures of that delicious looking dinner (the wine looks especially good right now with the little one hanging on me and crying!).

 

I'm glad I didn't have to type out the W. sauce as my spelling is probably even worse :p but it is easy to find. All the Coops I have been in seem to carry it in their international sections, but you can also order online from Coop or Migros fairly cheaply.  Sunflower oil is very easy to find and what I use the majority of the time. 

 

I have never had brocolli cooked on the grill like that...actually, I don't think I've had it any way on the grill, so I'm looking forward to trying it when I come home...maybe with a nice T-bone! :-D

 

What do you think? Should we have more 'mancooking' posts? (Personally, I think it's a fabulous idea as it means less cooking for me....and I know he's got a fantastic onion cake (dinner, not dessert) recipe, hummous, and a few others that I would love to share...

 

Until next time, Guten Appetit!  

Layered Potato (pan)cake

Once again my mother in law is visiting, so I have had time to look through recipes and get her input on how to make different things.  We found a recipe for a potato pancake, but the only thing we kept the same was the temperature and time to cook it. It was a lot of fun to make our own.

This is not a healthy thing. At all. It is drenched in butter and cheese :-D  We served it on the side with grilled brautwurst. So, if you would like something yummy, and don`t mind the calories, give this a try!

What you need:

30-50 g butter, melted
3-4 large potatoes
chives (fresh are better, but I didn`t have any)
2-3 onions
salt and pepper
cheddar cheese for topping

Slice the potatoes and the onions thinly. Lay the potatoes, overlapping, starting in the middle of a round oven dish and continuing until the bottom is covered.

Brush some butter over the top, and then scatter the onions and chives. Repeat with the layers until you reach the top of your dish or you run out of ingredients.

Heat the oven to 200 C and cook for 5 minutes.  Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes.

Remove the foil and increase the temperature to 230 C and cook another 15 to 20 minutes, until tender and the top is a golden brown.

Serve and sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese.

Enjoy!

Hamburgers!

Ok...so finding a good hamburger here is a little difficult...unless you want to shell out some serious cash (though this is for most eat-out food).  The solution is simple: make your own.

What? You don't have a grill? No problem.  Fust has these plug in grills (think George Forman) that make them just as well (though I would add liquid smoke to make them taste better - try one of the online stores or bring some with you from a trip).

Tonight, we grilled, which makes it easy for me. I can make everything in advance, clean up what I used and pass the burgers off to hubby when he gets home from work. :)

What you need: Mushroom Cheeseburgers

Beef (Hackfleisch) or any ground meat you would like to use
Hamburger buns (or bread if you don't have any. You can use a can to cut out a circle and then toast it)
1 slice of bread to crumble and mix into the ground beef
Slices of cheese (I used the Foi Epi)
Tomatoes
Lettuce
1 onion
1 Egg
Handful of mushrooms
There is an avocado in the picture because originally it was going to have sliced avocado. However, my avocado failed me so I used bacon instead.
A few slices of bacon.
Worcestershire Sauce
Liquid Smoke if grilling on an indoor grill

Slice your mushrooms and put them in a small pan with some olive oil. Dice half an onion and add to the mushrooms.
Slice your tomato and set aside, wash your lettuce and pat it dry if you are adding it to the burger.

Put your beef on a cutting board and add the diced onions to the top. Dice your bacon and add this as well. Crumble a piece of bread and add to the mixture. Mix together, make a small depression in the center (think volcano) and add the egg (this is so it doesn't run right off your cutting board).  Fold the beef mixture over the egg and mix it all up with your hands. Yes, it's a gooey mess, but it gets everything blended quickly and thoroughly.  Top with a dash or three of Worcestershire sauce (and liquid smoke if cooking indoors).

Pass the burgers off to the BBQ master (or cook them indoors).
While the burgers are cooking, put some french fries (pommes frites) in the oven and bake according to the directions. Eventually I will make my own again and post the recipe.
Saute the mushroom/onion mixture. Toast the bun(s)

Place a slice of cheese on the still warm burgers. Add the mushroom/onion mixture on top (also ketchup, tomatoes and lettuce if desired). Serve with fries. Enjoy!