Kick-off to Summer BBQ...Day Two! and a Magazine Challenge!

Found another great recipe for a Magazine Challenge and it's grilled so I'm doing two events in one for this installment! and the sun came out. Finally! The Griller did not need his umbrella this time! Funny how if it comes out good, the Griller takes full credit and if it comes out bad, the problem was with the recipe :) It was all good today! Except for dessert. That was my problem!



Debbie of Mountain Breath's is hosting the First annual Kick-Off to Summer BBQ at her blog, Mountain Breaths. and Suzy from Kitchen Bouquets has the Great Cooking Magazine Challenge for anyone, anytime who finds a great new recipe from a magazine. or a lousy recipe? This one I used was good one though! Really great! Definitely a keeper. Potatoes were awesome! Helps when you cook them long enough. I learned from my last mistake. The rice pudding was good. I like the heavy cream version much better, definitely creamier. This one came out very thick. but then again, I did mess up. Everyone liked it though.

Middle Eastern Sliders
Source: Rachael Ray Everyday Magazine, June-July 2009
Printable Recipe

4 pita breads
1-1/2 pounds ground beef
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and pepper
1 romaine heart, thinly sliced crosswise
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup dill pickle slices
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus lemon wedges for serving
3/4 cup store-bought hummus

Tip: You can also use Greek-style yogurt instead of the hummus and add feta cheese crumbles to the salad.

Preheat a grill to medium-high. Stack the pitas and wrap in heavy-duty foil; place on the grill and cover to warm.

In a large bowl, combine the beef with the cumin, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; shape into twelve 1/3-inch-thick patties. In another large bowl, combine the romaine, tomatoes and pickles; toss with the olive oil and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

Remove the pitas from the grill. Transfer the beef patties to the grill, cover and grill for 2 minutes on each side for medium. Spread each pita with some of the hummus, then top with some of the salad and 3 patties. Serve with the lemon wedges.

Roasted Potatoes with Garlic, Lemon, and Oregano
(Patates Riganates)
Source: epicurious.com -- The Foods of the Greek Islands: Cooking and Culture at the Crossroads of the Mediterranean by Aglaia Kremezi
Printable Recipe


3 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup beef stock or chicken stock
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
(I also added sliced shallots)

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Place the potatoes in a single layer in a 13-x-9-inch baking dish and pour the oil over them. Add the garlic, dried oregano, salt and pepper to taste and toss well to coat with the oil.
Bake the potatoes for 15 minutes. Add the stock, toss and bake for 10 minutes more. Add the lemon juice, toss and bake for 10 to 15 minutes more, or until the potatoes are cooked through.

If you like, preheat the broiler and broil the potatoes for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown.
Sprinkle with the fresh oregano and serve at once.


Rice pudding recipes are all over the internet, so I went with this one, and I left out the cornstarch. I added some vanilla. and I used a lot less sugar. I should have used even less, way too sweet for us. I used about a 1/2 cup. I must have screwed up somehow because when all was said and done, I had way too much liquid, so I poured some off from the pot before I mixed the eggs in. Added some of the hot rice mixture in with the eggs to heat it a bit so it wouldn't scramble and then dumped the whole mixture in the pot. Brought it to a boil. Then lowered the heat and simmered for a bit. It turned out nice, creamy when it was hot but got way too thick when it got cold. Maybe because I used arborio rice? My other choice in the pantry was the boil-n-bag kind. Good thing I didn't use cornstarch or it's be so thick it would have stuck to the pot.

Greek Rice Pudding (Ryzogalo)
Source: ehow.com
Printable Recipe

1 1/2 cups of water
3/4 cups of short grain rice
2 1/2 cups of whole milk
3/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
4 egg yolks
Ground cinnamon

Put the rice and water into a three-quart saucepan. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil. Turn the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Stir constantly while cooking.

Heat the milk but don't boil it. Stir it into the rice along with half of the sugar. Cover and continue to cook over very low heat for 20 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Stir frequently to prevent sticking.

Dissolve the cornstarch completely into a quarter cup cold water. Add it to the rice. Stir constantly so the rice doesn't stick or burn. Simmer for five minutes to cook the cornstarch. Remove it from the heat, cover it and let sit for 10 minutes.

Combine the egg yolks and the rest of the sugar. Add this to the rice and stir briskly until it is all well combined. The heat from the rice will cook the egg yolks and finish thickening the pudding.

Pour the pudding into individual serving dishes and sprinkle it with cinnamon. A single toasted almond on each serving is also a nice garnish.

You can increase or decrease the amount of sugar to suit your taste.

Add raisins if you like. (I don't!!)



and here we go again! Another pot holder bit the dust! Managed to put this one out before it was totally destroyed! Never throw a potholder on the stove while the little red warning lights still say HOT! My smoke alarm, also known as the timer gave us the warning! Am I the only one who uses the stove top as counter space?

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