Back to the grind! I am back to the office today and back into wearing long pants. Vacation was great and it finished off with a visit to the parade on Friday and a Super party on Saturday. For the party, I prepare a pretty simple menu as I wanted to have foods that my niece would love. She has a limited selection of food items to say the least and is very comparable to a kids menu.

The menu consisted of pepper crusted pork loin served with a peach apple chutney, grilled sweet potatoes and carrots with a brown butter reduction, boiled and grilled corn, panko and Parmesan crusted homemade chicken fingers, homemade garlic cheese fingers, simple berry and nut salad, smashed potatoes and a couple of grilled turkey breasts with a tangy blueberry sauce.

I chose to share the turkey with blueberry sauce recipe today because – well I think it was pretty tasty.  Turkey breast is something I over look at the grocery store a lot so I thought it would be fun to give it a whirl.  Turkey is very healthy for you and one of the leanest meats on the planet.  Pair it with a tangy blueberry sauce as the gravy and zesty was a happy camper!

Ingredients

Turkey Breast

• Turkey Breasts (2)
• 3 Sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1/4 Cup of Vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. Hoisin Sauce
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 Tbsp. Soy sauce
• 1/4 Cup Olive Oil

Sauce

• 3 Cups Blueberries
• 1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. Butter
• Hint of lemon juice
• Dash of sugar ( if needed)

Method

1. Combine all ingredients except the turkey in a large bowl and mix together
2. Toss turkey breasts  in a large ziploc bag and pour marinade over and let sit as long as you can.  It can sit the night before or even a few hours before grilling
3. Preheat grill to medium heat.
4. Place turkey on the grill, skin side down and leave until skin is crispy and does not stick on the grill.  Turn over and continue cooking.
5. Once almost cooked through, remove from heat and move to the side of the grill with the burners off.  Let sit until juices run clear and cooking is complete
6. Remove from grill and let rest on plate before carving.
7. For the sauce, heat sauce pan over medium heat and add the blueberries ( reserve 1/2 cup) and vinegar and let cook down.  About 12 minutes ( stirring occasionally)
8. Once reduced, add the sugar and lemon juice and continue cooking for 3 more minutes
9. Add the butter and reserved blueberries just before serving and stir through for 1 minute
10. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: The key to succulent turkey breast every time is ensuring the meat has a chance to rest.  This will allow the juices to crawl back to the center of the meat.  Do remember that the meat will continue cooking once you remove it from the heat.   You do not want to over cook it!

I thought I would share with you some photos ( Note I took 108 but didn’t want to overwhelm you) from the parade.  It was a great time and the kids had a blast.  The BBQ after the parade was my favorite part… surprise surprise!

Parade Shots

Have a super Monday and if you are just starting vacation – I am JEALOUS!  If you are back at it today, keep your chin up and keep smiling.  I will talk to you on Wednesday where I think I will announce something really exciting for the month of September for Zesty.  Want to know a hint?…. you can be a part of it!

Take care

zesty

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Mamma Mia this was good!  Oh Hi, I got a little side tracked as I was looking at the pictures from last night’s supper.  Before I left for work, I took out some chicken breasts ( bone-in and skinless) for supper.  These big morsels of flesh turned into something…. well AMAZING.

As you know from reading the blog (or not), I am not one to toot my own horn about something really being ridiculously good but I h ave to say the combination of apricots and lemon jazzed up with some fresh ginger made a bland chicken breast SING.  To go along with the chicken, Mrs. Zesty made a trip to the market and snagged some yummy sweet corn and a few sweet potatoes.  A little heavy on the starch but oh my I was happy.

Here is the way this went down.  About 5 minutes to prepare all this stuff and about 20-25 to grill everything off.  I first prepared the glaze for the chicken and lubed up the corn with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.

Ingredients

• Chicken Breasts ( Bone-In skinless )
• 2 Tbsp. Hoisin sauce
• 3 Tbsp. Apricot preserves
• 1/2 Tsp. Grated ginger
• 1/2 Tsp. Black pepper
• Juice of 1 lemon ( grate zest in as well )
• 4 Cobs of corn
• Salt and Pepper
• Olive oil

Method

1. Preheat grill to medium heat
2. In a bowl, combine hoisin sauce, apricot preserves, pepper, ginger and lemon and mix together
3. Place chicken on top of grill and let sear on first side.  Once the grilling has started, I start basting the chicken with the sauce because it is up off the direct heat and will not burn.





4. Turning the chicken once, after about 10-12 minutes, continue to baste the other side, slathering it on.  You can do no harm.



5. For the corn, husk the corn and prepare them for the grill
6. Toss in olive oil, salt and pepper and place directly on grill.  Stay close as they will brown up quickly.  Once they begin to brown, give them a quarter turn and continue all the way around.  Once they are all golden brown to your liking, place them up top to ensure they cook through.
7. Once chicken and corn are complete – you are ready to roll.
8. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: When cooking chicken on the grill, the best word of advice is cook it up top on the grill or using in direct heat.  Especially if you want to use a glaze with sugar like I did.  Otherwise the outside will burn burn burn and the inside will be undercooked and squawking at you.

On a different front…. check out the new grass. It is coming in excellent after just 4-5 weeks. I already cut it once and it needs to be mowed again. I just had to show you.

I hope you have a great Wednesday. After work I am going to cook with a very “popular” chef for a piece at the annual potato festival. I will fill you in with all the details on Friday.

Take care

zesty

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Hello from Charleston, West Virginia.  Yesterday was a busy day in Mississippi and right after the client meetings I drove back from Tupelo to Birmingham Alabama to fly out of this morning.  The flight times just worked out a little better from Birmingham than Memphis. Right after the client meetings we decided to take a quick drive down the road to Elvis’ old house where he grew up and visit there for a few minutes.  Very fun and I even picked up a couple of souvenirs.

I am dying to share this recipe with you since last Thursday, not because it is stellar and earth shattering but simply due to the fact that it tasted amazing and was super easy to prepare.  I really love quesadillas and have featured a couple of my favorites in the past:  Super Simple Stunning Quesadillas and  Chicken Asparagus Pesto Quesadillas.

This recipe is up there with flavor and simplicity.

Ingredients

• Bbq Chicken
• Whole Wheat Tortilla
• Red peppers
• Basil
• Monterrey Jack and Cheddar cheese (shredded)
• Bacon
• Mushrooms

Method

1. Cook off bbq chicken, bacon and mushrooms and set aside.  ( you can use left overs if you have them as well )













2. Line up the tortilla and start assembling the filling



3. Add all the ingredients and finish with a good layer of cheese on the top to help the top tortilla to stick.





4. Grill over medium heat – moving as needed to achieve a nice golden brown color.  Gently press on the outside of the quesadilla to force the edges to connect from the cheese.
5. Flip over and repeat the process.
6. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: If using mushrooms in quesadillas, I feel it is crucial to cook them down to remove the water from the mushrooms.  Otherwise they will make your tortilla soggy and cause it not to crisp.

I am hanging here in Charleston for a couple of days so let me know if you guys know of good places to eat here and I will be sure to check them out.  Have a superb Wednesday and I will talk to you back at home on Friday.

Take care

zesty

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In honor of the weirdest sandwich post on Wednesday and reading the comments I was inspired to do something a little off the wall so to speak.  I had some fresh pineapple in the fridge and a loaf of homemade bread from the local bakery.  I thought what the heck let’s give it a grill.  It has been raining cats and dogs here as of late so I decided just to do the grilling on the George Foreman grill.

I was unsure of how the pineapple would hold up so I did a quick grill of that first and set it aside as I assembled the sandwich.

Ingredients

• 2 slices of thick whole wheat bread
• Sliced fresh pineapple
• Drizzle of honey
• Bunch of parsley
• Dash of hot sauce
• Mozzarella

Method

1. Preheat the grill to medium high heat and grill off the pineapple and set aside
2. Take the two slices of bread and drizzle honey on one side.
3. Place a thick slice of pineapple on top.
4. Add hot sauce, parsley and cheese
5. Set the second slice of bread on top and grill until golden brown and melted.
6. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Make it crunchy!  The pineapple has a lot of natural juice in the slice so grilling it before hand was a great idea.  Keep the cheese heavy as it will lock the juice in the pineapple and keep the bread crunchy.

The sandwich was actually quite tasty.  The one thing I did notice about it was the sweetness… duh right?  But I found the little shot of hot sauce definitely help balance all the sugars from both the pineapple and the honey.  I would try this again but I think over the open flame of the barbecue for more flavor.

Have a terrific Friday and wish me luck tomorrow as I put forth my handy man skills and donate some time to the habitat for humanity for the annual “Baby Barn Blitz”.  Hopefully it is sunny where you are.

Take care

zesty

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So I packed the grill and moved it to the inlaws….. almost mandatory don’t you think? With that I decided to do some grilling for everyone.

On the Menu

• Strip loin Steaks
• Grilled Zucchini
• Sauteed Mushrooms and Onions in a Balsamic Reduction
• Grilled Lemon Rosemary Baby Potatoes

The results were acceptable.  I enjoyed everything overall although I found the steak to be just average.  The meat was a bit tasteless and slightly overcooked (which was my fault).  On the bright side, everyone’s plate was clean after the meal.

On the Steaks

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper

On the Potatoes

• Salt and Pepper
• Fresh Rosemary
• 1 Tsp. Butter
• Drizzle of Olive Oil
• Lemon Juice

In the Mushrooms

• Salt and Pepper
• Mushrooms
• Sweet Vidilia Onions
• Balsamic Vinegar
• 1/2 Tsp. Sugar

Zesty Tip: When grilling potatoes, the use of a tin foil plate is a great idea and eliminates the risk of the aluminum foil breaking open and losing your hard work.

I am so tired! I hope you have a great day. On the house front… the survey of the land was delayed for today so Ugh… I am staying positive but why do small things take so long to get accomplished.

Take care

zesty

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Can you believe it is Thursday already?  It’s the time of year where the weather is cooling off and winter is drawing near.  I thought I would make one more crack at the outdoor grill and whip up a simple salad packed with flavor.

Recently, I have been on a maple kick so I thought I would create a Maple Vinaigrette for this salad.  Salad dressings are so easy to make and have much better flavor than store bought dressing.  Give this one a try and tell me what you think.

Grilling vegetables is a great way to add a fresh flavor compared to the normal run of the mill boiled vegetables that we sometimes get trapped into.  What’s the proper way to grill vegetables?  First, make sure your grill is hot.  Then add oil to both the vegetables and the surface of the grill as you do not want them sticking.  Furthermore, stay close by as they will not take too long.

Maple Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 cup balsamic or sherry vinegar
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns

Method

1. Combine mustard and basil in a small bowl.  With a whisk, add vinegar, maple syrup, lemon juice and garlic.
2. Add olive oil and continue whisking until ingredients are mixed well.
3. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Refrigerate, the dressing will keep for several weeks.

Salad

Ingredients

• 8 Oz Sirloin (grilled to your liking)
• 4 Cups Baby Spinach
• 1 Grilled (sliced) Zucchini
• 1 Tomato (sliced) Grilled
• 1 Red Onion (sliced) Grilled
• 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper

Method

1. Preheat grill (indoor or outdoor).
2. Season and grill beef to your liking and set aside to rest.
3. Chop all vegetables and place in a bowl.
4. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.
5. Mix and coat evenly.
6. Place on the grill and cook until almost tender (you do not want them to soft).
7. Prepare baby spinach (wash and dry).
8. Using your final salad bowl, place some of the dressing in the bottom.
9. Add spinach and vegetables on top and toss gently to coat.
10. Add the Steak on top.
11. Drizzle with remaining dressing and season with coarse salt (if you like) and pepper.
12. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: To avoid an uneven coating of dressing on the salad, try adding some dressing to the bottom of the bowl before adding the ingredients  – then gently tossing them and topping the dressing off with the remainder.

One note, as I was eating this salad, I realized that some toasted nuts would also be great on here so I went ahead and threw on some walnuts.  It added another dimension of flavor that I suggest everyone tries.  For all the vegetarians out there, by all means just remove the beef and add more of your favorite vegetables.  It is still delicious.

I hope everyone has a great Thursday!

Take Care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty