Brown Sugar-Rum Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Lime Zest

Long time no post. This has been in my drafts for way too long. It's a great recipe we really enjoyed. 

It's been the usual crazy here in my house, hope to be posting again soon.

Brown Sugar and Rum Glazed Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Lime

original recipe by Bobby Flay, from the book Barbecue Addiction

adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

4 sweet potatoes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup dark rum
grated zest and juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup olive oil

Put the sweet potatoes in a large pot, cover with cold water by 2 inches, and add 2 tablespoons salt. Bring to a boil and cook until a skewer or paring knife inserted into the center of a sweet potato meets with slight resistance, about 30 minutes. Drain well and let cool. Cut each sweet potato into wedges.

Heat grill to medium.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan, add the brown sugar, stir and cook until smooth. Increase the heat, add the rum, and cook until reduced by about half. Add the lime zest and juice; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Brush the sweet potatoes with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until golden brown on each side, about 2-3 minutes. Brush with some of the rum glaze and grill for one minute longer.

Remove the sweet potatoes to a platter and brush with more of the glaze.

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Grilled Steaks with Ancho Butter and Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

The Griller is really getting the hang of it. Another steak grilled to perfection. This one was marinated in molasses, sherry vinegar and ancho chile powder. Topped with a compound chile butter, it really was fantastic. We had 4 rib steaks. Wasn't sure if they rather have plain steak or not. So two had the marinade, two were grilled plain, with only salt and pepper. All were prime. All were fantastic. We each had a large piece of both. But the two in the marinade was just a little more fantastic, thumbs up and definitely a keeper. And the extra compound butter is now in the freezer. I'll try it on vegetables, fish or chicken. It's a nice touch. Not to sweet, not to spicy. Added a nice, rich flavor.

Grilled Steak with Rosemary Roasted Potatoes and Grilled Asparagus on the side.

Grilled Steaks with Ancho Butter

adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook

Source: Food & Wine, recipe by Robert Del Grande

 Printable Recipe

Ancho butter:
2 tablespoons ancho chile powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 shallot, coarsely chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled

2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened
juice of one lime
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

Steaks:
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons ancho chile powder
4 1 1/2-pound bone-in rib-eye steaks, about 3 inches thick
salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat the olive oil in a small skillet. Add the onion and garlic and cook over low heat, stirring, until tender and lightly caramelized. Remove from the heat and let cool.

Put the ancho powder, onions, garlic, lime juice,and maple syrup in a food processor and pulse until chopped. Add the softened butter and pulse to thoroughly combine. Put the compound butter in a bowl and refrigerate until the steaks are ready.

Light a grill. Season both sides of the steaks with salt and pepper. In a bowl combine the olive oil, molasses, vinegar and chile powder. Brush the steaks on both sides with some of the mixture. Grill the steaks to desired doneness. Brush both sides with more of the molasses mixture. Grill for another minute, then transfer to a platter and let rest for 10 minutes. Serve with the ancho butter.
*Freeze the leftover butter to use on vegetables, fish, chicken or meat.

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

2 pounds baby Yukon Gold potatoes, cut in half, par-boiled on stove or microwave until almost tender
rosemary sprigs, cut in 1-inch pieces
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
     
Preheat the oven to 400°.

Drain the potatoes and pat them dry.

Spread the potatoes and rosemary sprigs on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil, season with salt and black pepper and toss to coat. Roast for 45 minutes, stirring a few times, until the potatoes are sizzling and browned.

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 Beth Fish Reads for Weekend Cooking.

 

Foodie Friends Friday
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Full Plate Thursday at Miz Helen's Cottage

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July Potluck with Jamie Oliver

Time for another Jamie Oliver potluck at I Heart Cooking Clubs and since dinner for us was grilled burgers I thought cole slaw would be perfect. So I made Jamie Oliver's Mexican Street Salad.  I loved it, it had a real tangy flavor from the lime. I should have let it sit a bit before I served it but as usual I was rushed. The kids didn't love it. I think next time I would mix the lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and jalapeno in a jar to combine it really well, rather than separately, I think the kids would have liked it better that way. I added avocado's because everything is better with avocado. At least we think so! I'd make this one again. Maybe add a little ancho chili powder or some cumin to the dressing, maybe even a little chipotle, too!

Mexican Street Salad (Cole Slaw)
Source: Original recipe can be found at JamieOliver.Com
Adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

1/2 small green cabbage, shredded
1/2 small red cabbage, shredded
8-10 radishes, trimmed and finely sliced
2 carrots, peeled and finely sliced
a large bunch of fresh cilantro, leaves and stems finely chopped (more or less to taste)
1 or 2 large jalapeño's, finely sliced (more or less to taste!)
1 small red onion, peeled and finely sliced
extra virgin olive oil
juice of 2 limes
salt and pepper, to taste
diced avocado

Shred the green and red cabbage into two separate piles. Put just the white cabbage into a large bowl with the radishes, carrots and most of the cilantro. Mix everything together really well, then add almost all the chopped jalapeno, the red onion and red cabbage and pour on some extra virgin olive oil. Add most of the lime juice and a good pinch of salt and pepper, then toss together and taste. Just keep adjusting everything to your taste, if it needs more heat add some more jalapeno. When everything is just right, top with some diced avocado and a little swirl of olive oil and serve.

Joining

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AND

Souper Sundays (soups, salads and sandwiches) @ Kahakai Kitchen

with the

 Souper Sunday weekly round-up of recipes

 

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Barbecued Thai Chicken

They're Firing Up the Grill with Jamie Oliver over at I Heart Cooking Clubs!

So I while I was looking for recipes I found more than a few that I couldn't resist. For starters, Caprese Salad with Grilled Peppers, Jamie's very nice twist on the classic. Simple enough with a nice grilled flavor from the peppers. Loved it! And Barbecued Thai Chicken. Fresh lemongrass is not the easiest to find here, sometimes I manage, and when I do find it, I freeze a few stalks so I'll have it. And this recipe seemed like the perfect one to go with to use up those last few precious stalks from the freezer. Now the hunt begins again for more.

Barbecued Thai Chicken
Source: original recipe can be found at JamieOliver.com
Adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

8 chicken legs (I removed the skin. You can use other parts as well)
a bunch of fresh cilantro (save some on the side for garnish)
2 sticks of lemon grass
zest and juice of 2 limes
1 jalapeno
2 tablespoons olive oil
a thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated
3 cloves of garlic, peeled

Add the lemongrass stalks to a food processor all of the ingredients and whizz to make a paste.

Rub the paste all over the chicken pieces. Place in a ziploc bag or a bowl to marinate for about an hour. Pre-cook the chicken in a baking dish on 350°F for about an hour, then remove from oven to finish on the grill.

Grill until cooked through, crispy and brown on the outside. Sprinkle the reserved cilantro leaves over and serve.

Caprese Salad with Grilled Peppers
Source:  Original recipe at JamieOliver.com
Adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

2 red peppers
2 balls of good-quality mozzarella cheese, size of a small fist
400g ripe cherry tomatoes, halved (about 14 ounces)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
a bunch of fresh basil leaves

Place the peppers directly onto the gas flame of your stove or under a very hot grill and let them blacken and blister. Turn now and then with kitchen tongs. When blackened all over, pop them into a bowl and cover with cling film. Or in a brown paper bag and fold the top so the steam doesn't escape.

Leave the peppers to steam for about 10 minutes, then remove the cling film (or from the bag and leave them to cool. When they are cool enough to handle, rub off the blackened skin and brush away the seeds from the inside.

Tear the mozzarella balls into chunks and divide between four plates. Then tear the peppers into strips and divide over the plates of mozzarella. Scatter the tomato halves over the top.

Season well with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Tear the basil leaves up and sprinkle them over the salad before serving.

Joining

  The Little Red House for Mosaic Monday with some fresh basil from my garden!

and joining

 I Heart Cooking Clubs to Fire Up the Grill with Jamie Oliver!

and

the fun of Weekend Cooking at Beth Fish Reads. Every weekend. It's open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share!

 

and

Souper Sundays (and salads and sandwiches) @ Kahakai Kitchen

with the

 Souper Sunday weekly round-up of recipes

 

 

and

be sure to check out Margot at Joyfully Retired for the July edition of "Whip Up Something New!"

 

 

and Food on Friday at Carole's Chatter 

 

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Flashback Friday: Salmon!

My friend Marsha, from Marsha's Kitchen made Grilled Salmon with Lime Butter the other day. I had already made it once before and we loved it, absolutely loved, but I added the jalapeno's, Marsha didn't. But I wouldn't call her a wuss or anything. Not me :) So anyway, I'm reading her post, early this morning, and boy, it is looking really good! Especially on her pretty plate next to the grilled vegetables!  and I get to thinking, and I get to craving. I have to have this again! Today was a beach day so the fish guy by the beach has really fresh, really great salmon. So we spent the day at the beach and stopped off at the fish guy!  I got a tan, the Griller and the kids get a really good dinner. Everyone's happy!

Thanks, Marsha, your salmon looked so good when I saw it, I had to have it again! When I made the recipe the first time, I added fresh jalapeno's and chopped shallots. Tonight I made it with jalapeno, a roasted poblano and shallots!

To roast the poblano pepper, just put it under the broiler, and roast it until the pepper is charred! Then put it in a brown paper bag and roll the top closed! The pepper will steam inside the bag and the skin will peel off easily!  Throw it into a food processor with a shallot, a garlic clove, 1/4 cup of fresh lime juice and some of the lime zest. Salt and pepper and 1/2 of a jalapeno. Whiz it up in the food processor! You can freeze any leftovers for another use.

 Charred and peeled!

  Garlic, Lime and Jalapeno-Poblano Butter

Joining Suzy from Kitchen Bouquet for another Flashback Friday! Click here to see more Flashbacks with Suzy!

The Flashback fish...

Here's the Flashback links...

http://theresalwaysthyme.blogspot.com/2010/01/grilling-salmon-with-garlic-and-lime.html

The original recipe is here @ epicurious.com!

and the printable adapted recipe!

and this is how it looked tonight...

and with the leftover lime butter, we grilled some calamari for me and my shellfish allergy, and some scallops for everyone else!

Dinner was so good, I even had a few of the grilled asparagus. used to really dislike asparagus. The kids love them. So I decided to set an example and just try something I normally wouldn't touch. and I surprised myself, and really liked them. But only the really thin ones. I may even have them again one of these days!

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Grilling: Salmon with Garlic and Lime Butter Sauce

ok, so it happened. We ate somewhat healthy tonight. Not really sure what came over us, but there was a request for salmon. The miracle would be if it was unanimous, but it wasn't. Miss Picky had hot dogs. I went searching online for some nice way to do the salmon and not stink up the house! Grilled Salmon with Lime Butter. Got a lot of rave reviews on Epicurious. So I tried it. It got rave reviews here, too! I added a little bit of shallots and some fresh jalapeno to the sauce. Delicious. Fantastic. Definitely a keeper. Served it with grilled Zucchini sprinkled with Penzey's Mural of Flavor. Good stuff. and some frozen Tater Tots. I said dinner was good, I didn't say perfect :)

Grilled Salmon with Garlic and Lime Butter Sauce 
Source: Ian Knauer - Gourmet, July 2006
adapted There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

6 (6-oz) pieces center-cut salmon fillet (about 1 inch thick) with skin
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lime zest
6 tablespoons lime butter sauce (recipe below)

Prepare grill for cooking over medium-hot charcoal or moderate heat for gas grilling.

Season salmon all over with salt and pepper, then grill, flesh side down, on lightly oiled grill rack (close cover for gas grilling) about 4 - 5 minutes. Turn fillets over and grill (close cover for gas grilling) until just cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes more. Sprinkle fillets with zest and top each with about a tablespoon lime butter sauce.

NOTE: If you aren't able to grill outdoors, you can grill the salmon indoors in a hot lightly oiled well-seasoned ridged grill pan over moderately high heat. Or even in the oven, but leave the "Grilled" off the title :) The sauce is really good on vegetables! You can also use lemon instead of limes, and add chopped shallots. I tend to add shallots to everything. I added some fresh jalapeno, too!

Garlic Lime Butter Sauce
1 large garlic clove, chopped
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 fresh jalapeno
1/2 shallot, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon fresh lime zest

Melt the butter in a saute pan with the shallots and the garlic. Don't cook it, just heat it all up until melted. Purée the lime juice, jalapeno, salt, and pepper in a blender or food processor until smooth. With motor running, add melted butter and blend until emulsified, about 30 seconds. or pour melted butter, garlic and shallot in the food processor and whiz until emulsified.

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 Food on Friday at Carole's Chatter

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