Chicken and Shishito Pepper Kebabs

One of my favorite little gems have started appearing at the market - shishito peppers. These sweet peppers may be small, but they pack a huge flavor punch. I tasted them for the first time last year, trying a few different preparation techniques. They are pretty versatile, like a bell pepper. Since last year, I have noticed that they are popping up in a lot of grocery stores now as well. The easiest way to cook shishito peppers is to sauté them in a hot cast iron skillet with oil and coarse sea salt. However, since it is grilling season, I figured a nice kebab was in order!

I like chicken kebabs since they hold up well on the grill and won't overcook by the time the vegetables are done. I decided to marinade the chicken a bit to add some additional flavor and the Hubby gave me the exact cooking instructions! If you include lemon juice in the marinade, be sure to NOT let it sit for too long. The oil, herbs and garlic make a great marinade as well though if you want to get a more flavorful kebab. Just drizzle the lemon juice on the kebabs before grilling.

If using wooden skewers, remember to soak them in water for at least 30 minutes before putting on the grill.

So head to your local Farmers Market in search for these sweet little gems and fire up that grill ya'll!

Chicken and Shishito Pepper Kebabs

Yields: 4 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes


1 pound chicken breasts (skinless, boneless) cut into 1 inch cubes
1 pint Shishito Peppers

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 T Grapeseed oil or Olive Oil

2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Salt and pepper 

In a small bowl, combine the garlic, oil, thyme, lemon juice and salt and pepper and mix well. Add the marinade into a large zip-loc bag along with the chicken, mix around well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Prepare the grill for direct heat.

Skewer the marinated chicken and shishito peppers and grill in a single layer over direct heat. Cook the kebabs for about 5 minutes per side, covered, watching to not char the peppers too much. Remove the kebabs and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

30/30 - #7 Grilled Lamb Chops

Coming in at #7 is a new addition to the blog, but one that I am very happy about. The recipe comes from a family friend, who enjoys food and life about as much as I do! His Grilled Lamb Chops are so simple and only require 5 ingredients including the chops themselves. The Hubby and I love to make a rack for a nice dinner treat, but they are great appetizers as well, little bite size chops that your guests would be sure to love.

In fact, I think I might just request these chops when I get back from Aspen :) Hubby, get ready!

Find the recipe for the Grilled Lamb Chops and some grilling tips here.

30/30 - #21 Grilled Romaine Salad

#21 is a staple in our house, especially when we have the grill going. It is quite possibly one of the easiest salads to throw together. The best part is that there is no chopping required! You simply place a head of Romaine lettuce on the grill and quickly char some of the outer leaves. Top with your favorite salad items and dressing, and BAM!

I try to change up the toppings and dressing so that it seems like we are having a different salad every time. This one below has cucumbers, sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese and a drizzle of some good olive oil. 

It's the weekend and I already have this recipe posted on my blog, so I will keep this short. Check out how to make Grilled Romaine Salad for an easy, and impressive side dish!

Grilled Romaine Salad

Find the recipe for Grilled Romaine Salad here.

30/30 - #28 Kettler Baby Back Ribs

I am sensing a theme here on the Top 30 recipes....grilling! It's definitely grilling season, so I figured it would be a great way to start. The weather has been amazing the last few weeks, meaning any excuse to get out side is a good one. 

These ribs are juicy, succulent, fall-of-the-bone kind of ribs. They are so good, that I haven't tried another recipe in the last 5 years. The cooking process and the rub are always the same, but I do change the sauce depending on what ingredients I have on hand, or if I have a special BBQ sauce in the pantry.

Lucky for you, I am throwing in an extra favorite today, my Blackening Rub. The first time I made these ribs, I used a brown sugar spice rub recipe that I included below. It was definitely delicious, but I found it was another step. Since I always have my Blackening Rub prepared in my pantry, I started using that and never turned back!

One final suggestion, make enough to share!

Hint for tomorrow's favorite...a roastin' dip!

Kettler Baby Back Ribs

Yields: 6 servings (2-3 racks rib)
Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 2.5 hours + 10 minutes

1 cup Blackening Rub

OR

Brown Sugar Spice Rub
8 tablespoons brown sugar
4 teaspoons dried oregano
4 teaspoons dried mustard
4 tablespoons smoked paprika
3 teaspoons pepper
3 teaspoons salt

You can find the recipe for Kettler Baby Back Ribs here. 

30/30 - #29 Grilled Jalapeño Poppers

Day 2 of the ultimate recipe countdown on Kettler Cuisine - Grilled Jalapeño Poppers, which was another easy one to pick out from the list of recipes in my repertoire. These little spicy bad boys are easy to make ahead to throw on the grill during a cookout. I even make "special" ones without the bacon for my vegetarian friends.

Here is a hint for tomorrow....I want my babyback babyback babyback babyback....

Grilled Jalapeño Poppers

Yields: 12 poppers
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10-15 minutes

You can find the recipe for Grilled Jalapeño Poppers here.

30/30 - #30 Buttermilk Brined Pork Chops

It's official! I am almost 30! To celebrate, I am doing a 30-day countdown to my 30th birthday, hence the "30/30" theme.

I thought it might be fun to celebrate with all of you since cooking and blogging are a BIG part of my life. Birthday celebrations in my family are more like birth-months, they tend to get extended a bit. We like to plan many events, meals, gifts and get-togethers to celebrate.

In the spirit of my "birth-month", Kettler Cuisine is going to countdown to my birthday by featuring my top 30 recipes. It is a random list, but one that is full of Kettler Cuisine recipes, family favorites, other bloggers, restaurants, and of course, cocktails.

To qualify as a favorite, it has to meet three criteria:

• Made or had it more than once
• Requested by friends and family often
• NEVER gets old

Over the next 30 days I will share these favs and maybe sneak in a few new recipes.

To kick off the big countdown, I am bringing it all the way back to the beginning of Kettler Cuisine with a knockout - Buttermilk Brined Pork Chops!!

This is by far the most requested recipe and most frequent dinner in our household. It was fun to look back through the blog and see how far I have progressed, mostly with photography. Not bad for a self-taught girl! Even though I would love to share the joy of my photography progression, I have updated most of the photos for the Top 30 list.

Check out the original post on Buttermilk Brined Pork Chops for the recipe and my first attempts at blogging!

Enjoy and check back tomorrow for a (hint, hint) spicy bite!

Buttermilk Brined Pork Chops

Yields: 4 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes (plus up to 24 hours for brine)

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Find the recipe here!

Lloyd's Grilled Lamb Chops

Warning: Vegetarians look away. This post contains delicious, meat goodness!

I don't eat a ton of read meat, but when I do, I am very selective and picky about it. I look for tender cuts cooked at medium rare or below, don't care what type of meat it is.

We are lucky enough to be surrounded by a lot of wonderful chefs in our life - family, friends, coworkers, great shows like Top Chef. Not only does this mean that we eat well most of the time, we have a growing stack of fantastic recipes from trusted referrals. Several of these recipes have come from family friends over the years, like the (now famous) Buttermilk-Brined Pork Chops, Grilled Jalapeño Poppers, or the Ultimate Bloody Mary.

Even though we are usually more inclined to try a recipe if a friend recommends it, we still always have to test it for ourselves before it becomes number one, blog-worthy and number two, added to our repeat pile. Enter Lloyd's Lamb Chops.

Let's start with who the heck is Lloyd?! Lloyd is one of my fathers closest friends that has literally known me for my entire life. He has a boisterous laugh and loves his red wine! He also happens to be a damn good cook. One of his staples is a simple, but delicious lamb chop - caveman style - no utensils needed here.

There is no big secret to this lamb chop recipe beyond just getting good quality meat. A bad cut of lamb can ruin someones palate for life! So in light of that, there are a few easy rules to make this recipe a success:

1. These must be grilled. Stove top just doesn't cut it.
2. Rare or Medium Rare. If you like well done meat, then don't make this recipe.
3. Trim the chops, but not too much. The fat is what gives the flavor.

More on Rule #1 - Grill these babies. I have tried them on the grill pan on my stove top and while they are still good, it doesn't bring out the peak flavor of the meat. The Hubby and I also have a slight obsession with charcoal grilling! Since I don't usually do the grilling, I asked the Hubby Grill Master to provide comments:

• Make the grill as hot as possible (make sure grill plate is clean)
• Lightly brush both sides of the chops with high-heat cooking oil (Grapeseed)
• Chops should sizzle when placed on the hot grill
• Cooking time varies for thickness of chops - 2 minutes per side for 1 inch thick and 3 minutes per side for 1.5 inch thick. Keep an eye on them.
• Covering the grill is NOT necessary.
• Flames will jump up from coals as the oil and lamb fat drippings hit the coals. This is a good thing as it adds char and flavor to the outside of the chops. If the flames get out of control, calm with sprayed water.

More on Rule #2 - Rare or Medium Rare. Really, all I have to add here is that overcooked lamb is dry and tough to eat. I don't know about you, but I don't want to eat something like that!

More on Rule #3 - Trim the chops, but not too much. This depends on where the meat is bought. If you get from a trusted butcher, most likely you won't have to do this. We usually buy a rack of lamb that is already "Frenched" or trimmed, which means the butcher has trimmed the fat and meat from between the ribs and most of the bones are scraped clean. We then slice into chops ourselves. Most of the time, there is no trimming needed. However, I have seen some very fatty racks and chops at meat counters that I would probably trim myself. I don't want to bite into all fat, just a little bit.

The final comment I will add is about the portion size. Lamb chops are small. Don't compare them to a pork chop when you are thinking about portion sizes. Lamb chops make a great appetizer for a large crowd because the prep is minimal and the cooking time is short. However, these chops also make a great dinner for 2-4 people.

Lloyd's Grilled Lamb Chops

Yields: 8-10 chops

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 1-3 minutes per side

1.5 pound rack of lamb chops, "Frenched"

1 tablespoon cumin powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon ground pepper

Trim the rack of lamb of any excess fat. Then slice the rack in between the bones to make chops.

Prepare the grill to high heat (see notes above). 

In a small bowl, combine the cumin, garlic, salt and pepper. Distribute the spice mix over each side of the lamb chops and gently press into the meat with your fingers. Set aside until ready to grill and serve.

Over a high heat grill, cook the lamb chops about 2 minutes per side for 1 inch thick chops or 3 minutes per side for 1.5 inch thick chops.

Kettler Baby Back Ribs

I want my babyback babyback babyback babyback ribs!!

Occasionally a recipe comes along that just has to be shared. Well, today is one of those days folks!! These are fall-off-the-bone, melt-in-your-mouth, juicy, meaty ribs ya'll!

Ribs, a Southern tradition. A carnivorous art form. A slab of meat that takes time and attention for a successful outcome. The key is low and slow. Cook the meat on a low temperature and slowly. Then quickly finish them on the grill on medium-high heat to seal in the flavor and juices.

I came across the technique in Real Simple magazine several years ago and have tweaked to perfection. The article was about the different preparation techniques for various cuts of ribs. Since I always get baby back ribs (pork), I decided to rip out that page and go from there.

With Ryan's mad grilling skills and my fearless recipe testing, these ribs have become a family favorite! It was the perfect recipe to accompany the Hegele Fantasy Football kickoff this past weekend. There was major trash-talking and major finger-licking! My dad kept sneaking a bite even before they were slathered with sauce!

The Rub

I start with the rub. I use two different ones, depending on what flavor outcome we want - spicy or sweet.

The sweet rub is more like the one I found in that magazine all those years ago, and it pairs very nicely with the Dijon Balsamic Barbecue sauce recipe below. However, my mom prefers to use my Blackening Rub instead since she likes a little kick. The blackening rub is really good with a mesquite-type barbecue sauce.

However, we agreed that the best combination is my Blackening Rub and the Dijon Balsamic Barbecue sauce!

The Sauce 

Very important! But only added right at the end to finish on the grill. The sauce is what creates the crunchy outside of the rib meat, which seals in all the juices. There is always a big argument for what kind of sauce we should use because it is a very personal thing. It is like asking someone if they prefer chocolate or vanilla. Personally, I love the Dijon Balsamic Barbecue sauce below.

But, my hubs loves Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue Sauce, found in your local grocery store.

The Cooking Process

Also very important! Ryan wrote out specific instructions on the grilling process as this can make or break your ribs. Trust me, you don't want to spend over 2 hours slow cooking your ribs in the oven, just to ruin them on a grill!

The Hubs wrote detailed instructions for me to add in:

1. Start with a single layer of charcoal that's greyed. (I don't recommend using a gas grill because the point is getting the charcoal flavor infused into the ribs). You can also throw wood chips of hickory, cherry, or your favorite wood that have been soaked in water for 20 minutes on the coals to create a smokey flavor as they smolder.
2. Place the greased grill on and leave for 2-3 minutes to heat up. It shouldn't be too hot. You should be able to hold your hand directly above the grill for 3 seconds.
3. If too hot, close the vents on the top and bottom of the grill half way to allow less air flow (fires need air so less oxygen = less fire fuel).
4. Place the ribs on the grill (halve them to make handling easier), meat side down first, leaving some space between each rib for air to circulate, cover, grill for 2-3 minutes.
5. Open grill and flip the ribs so they are bone side down. The ribs should have some slight grill marks on them, but shouldn't be burnt.
6. Use a basting brush to add a generous portion of sauce to the meat side that's now slightly crispy from being on the grill.
7. Cover and grill for another 2-3 minutes. This step allows the sugars in the sauce to caramelize and create that delicious glaze rib lovers crave!
8. Open grill and pull ribs off. Be careful pulling the ribs off the grill because if they're tender like they should be, the bones will come right out! We don't want any rib casualties!
9. Allow the ribs 3-5 minutes to sit under tin foil so any juices will reincorporate into the meat.

Make sure to give your epic grill master a big, sticky BBQ kiss to show how much you love 'em, or take a memorable selfie :)

Selfie!

Kettler Baby Back Ribs

Yields: 2-3 racks of ribs (6 servings)

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 2 1/2 hours + 10 minutes

4 pounds baby back pork ribs

Brown Sugar Spice Rub

8 tablespoons brown sugar

4 teaspoons dried oregano

4 teaspoons dried mustard

4 tablespoons smoked paprika

3 teaspoons pepper

3 teaspoons salt

Dijon Balsamic Barbecue sauce

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup dijon mustard

1/4 cup honey

Preheat the oven to 275F.

Combine the rub ingredients together (brown sugar, oregano, mustard, paprika, pepper and salt) and set aside. Rinse and dry the ribs and layout on a large counter space or cutting board. Evenly spread the rub on the meat and massage in all over. Don't be shy with the rub, or the meat :)

Lay the ribs on large rimmed baking sheets and cover tightly with foil. Bake in the oven for 2 to 2 1/5 hours until the meat is very tender and starting to fall away from the bones.

While the meat is cooking, combine the balsamic vinegar, mustard and honey in a small bowl. This will be used as a barbecue sauce. A ready-made sauce can easily be substituted. We love Sweet Baby Rays!

Prepare the grill, brush the sauce onto the cooked ribs and cook on the grill according to Ryan's instructions above.

You should be able to pick up a rib and have the bone fall right off the meat like below! Serve right away with plenty of napkins!

I picked up a half-rack by a bone and this is what happened!

Wing (End)Zone

This is our precious goddaughter, Avery. And she is ready for some football! Much like many of our other friends that came over the other weekend for opening football weekend!! Ryan and I figured we would go all out and make wings. We decided on three different kinds and put out the usual carrot and celery with ranch dip. All of our guests contributed to the food supply as well.

Normally I don't recommend trying a new recipe for a party, but wings sounded so delicious and with Ryan's grilling skills, I knew we would pull through! We not only tried a new recipe for our shin-dig, we tried grilling wings for the first time. Let's just say, touchdown!!

Wings are one of those dishes that we previously would have only ordered in a restaurant because they are more hassle than delicious. I am not a frequent wing-eater either, mostly because they are deep fried and don't agree with my stomach. However, my husband LOVES wings, possibly one of his favorite foods (along with Ranch dressing and Bojangles). He always seems to find an excuse to go out for Wing Night with the boys. 

He prefers the buffalo sauce, which is my least favorite! Here we are again folks, at the culinary crossroads to find something we agree on...not only on the "sauce," but the method of cooking. 

Frying was definitely not going to happen. From the day we said "I Do," it was clear that nothing would be fried in my kitchen! So I gave him the buffalo sauce in exchange for not frying. We then agreed on two other flavors - Sweet and Spicy and Stout Jerk. We looked for recipes that called for grilled wings, which was hard to find! Most recipes call for baking or frying the wings.

We followed the Sweet and Spicy recipe from Serious Eats exactly but altered the Stout Jerk one from The Beeroness slightly. And, just for my beloved, we grilled plain wings to cover in buffalo sauce :)

For the Sweet and Spicy wings, hop over to Serious Eats and try out this recipe (my personal fav of the day). 

For the Buffalo wings, we simply marinaded chicken wings (and drumsticks) in pepper, salt and olive oil for a few hours, grilled them and then poured our favorite wing sauce on top.

And finally, the Stout Jerk Chicken wings recipe which we got from The Beeroness. We decided to grill them instead of baking and they turned out fantastic! Side note about The Beeroness blog, it is awesome! She uses craft beers in all of her recipes. The girl really knows how to cook! I will definitely share more of her recipes in the future since my husband keeps begging me to make them. You might recall his love of craft beers from this post.

Stout Jerk Chicken Wings

Adapted from The Beeroness, Inspired from Blood, Bones & Butter
Yields: 6-8 servings (appetizer portion)
Prep Time: 2-24 hours (depending on marinade time)
Cook Time: 15-25 minutes

1/2 cup stout beer (we used Stone Imperial Stout)

4 small Habanero peppers, seeded and roughly chopped

6 cloves of garlic, peeled

3 tablespoons ponzu sauce (Asian citrus sauce)

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon dry mustard powder

2 teaspoons Chinese 5 spice powder

1 teaspoon black pepper

3 tablespoons shallots, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon sea salt

3 pounds chicken wings and thighs

Add all of the ingredients except the chicken into a food processor and mix until smooth.

Rinse the chicken in water and pat dry. Place into a large heavy duty Ziploc bag. Pour the marinade over the chicken and seal the bag tightly. Gently move the chicken around in the marinade to evenly distribute. Place the bag into a large baking dish and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight. Move the marinade around and flip the chicken every 2 or 3 hours to redistribute the sauce.

Once ready to cook, remove the bag from the refrigerator 30 minutes prior to grilling. Heat a charcoal grill to medium-high heat, creating a direct heat side and an indirect heat side (by placing coals on one side of the grill).  Grease the grill grates (can use the half onion dipped in olive oil method that Ryan uses).

Place the chicken wings and thighs on the indirect side, cover and cook until the skin starts to brown, anywhere between 7-15 minutes (depending on the size of the wings). Move the wings to the direct heat side of the grill and continue to cook until the skins have crisped, another 2-3 minutes. Depending on the size of the wings, you might want to remove one wing and test to make sure the chicken is cooked through before removing all. Once the chicken is cooked through, remove the wings from the grill and place on a large serving dish with plenty of wet naps on the side! Delicious!

*Tip from the Grill Master

After reading this post, I received a lovely email from our close friends, the London's. You might remember them from this post. Anyways, Hal is by far one of the best Griller's I know of and he adds a few steps when grilling chicken wings:

When you remove the wings from the grill, toss them in a large mixing bowl with your favorite BBQ or wing sauce and then put them back on the grill to "set" the sauce. This creates a few crispies on the skin according to Hal. Another plus, is it helps keep the wings a little less messy. 

We are certainly going to try this next time we grill wings Hal and Sandy. Thanks for the feedback and for following the blog :)

Cedar Plank Salmon

This Labor Day weekend was great! Ryan and I didn't have any travel plans and actually had down time to catch up on things. The only "thing" on our list was to pull out the grill! Although we both love seafood, we don't eat it a lot because it can be pricey. But while I was at Whole Food's over the weekend, I ventured past the seafood counter and noticed some fine-looking salmon on display! Fresh caught, and in-season.

I always like to talk to the vendor behind the Whole Food's seafood counter, mostly because they are VERY knowledgeable about fish and always have great suggestions for preparation and recipes. However, this time, I knew exactly how to prepare it - Cedar Plank style!!

Cooking salmon on cedar planks is just one of those meals that Ryan and I both LOVE - kind of like the buttermilk-brined pork chops. It is delicious every time! And I have to admit, Ryan doesn't cook that much, but the man is good on the grill! I know that Dave is smiling down with a proud father grin when I say this :)

Earlier this year, I bought a few cedar planks and we attempted the salmon for the first time, playing around with a few different marinades/sauces. In all honestly, you don't need to have sauce or marinade at all with a cedar plank, but we found this easy combination of flavors to enhance the taste even more. The only "think ahead" note is, remember to soak the plank in water before placing on a grill, so it doesn't disintegrate into flames!

Cedar Plank Salmon Fillets 

Yields: 2 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes + 1 hour soaking time
Cook Time: 15-20 minutes

2 (6 ounce) salmon fillets with skin
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon zest (reserve lemon for garnish)
Salt and pepper

Cedar Grilling Planks (soaked for 1 hour)

Place the prepared cedar plank into a large jelly roll pan and pour water on top to cover it. Put a large glass jar on top of the plank to keep it from floating.

Combine the mustard, maple syrup, rosemary and lemon zest in a small bowl and set aside.

Pull the fish out of the refrigerator and place on the counter for 10 minutes to bring closer to room temperature. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat a charcoal grill to medium-high heat (or indirect heating setup) and add the soaked plank to the grill rack, close the cover and heat for 3 minutes, then flip the plank.

Pull off the plank and place the salmon filets skin-side down on top. Generously brush the marinade on the fillets and cook on indirect heat for 7 minutes. (This is a great time to grill some vegetables for a side dish).

Move the salmon planks closer to the direct heat for 3-5 minutes until the fish is done (depending on thickness of filets.

No flipping necessary, but you can add more marinade while it cooks if you want - the plank adds a lot of flavor though.

Grill, Meat, Football

I got home Thursday night to a happy husband....a VERY happy husband. He had the coals on the grill heating up, our Meat House steak tips and veggies laid out and counting down the minutes until NFL preseason started! 

It certainly was a nice treat to have him prep and cook dinner, all I had to do was steam broccoli and slice a tomato. He stepped outside with a huge grin on his face to start grilling (oh, the relationship between a man and his grill is almost as enigmatic as the one with football). I offered to get him a drink and he giddily asked for the new Stout that was chilling in the fridge. I opened and poured some for the both of us. 

We opened a bottle of one of our good wines (from a wedding gift case we got from a family friend) and enjoyed the hell out of that steak! It is amazing that among our chaotic lives, we still find simple pleasures in food and drink (and football). We watched our beloved NC State Alum, Philip Rivers take on the Packers, and enjoyed the beginning of football season. (Why the network wasn't playing Peyton's debut, I shall never know!!)

So, in the spirit of my blog, I have to include a little something about our meal. When Ryan grills, he takes half a red onion and greases the grill with olive oil. This adds extra flavor and prevents the use of an aerosol cooking spray. I took the other half of the onion, sliced it and sauteed it in some of the delicious Stout beer that we were drinking that night. The beer gave the onions a yummy caramel coating, which paired well with fresh tomato slices and basil from our garden.

The onions caramelize in about ten minutes - a flavorful and easy addition to any cookout or dinner salad!

Grilled Jalapeño Poppers

It was a great celebration - friends, food and fireworks for the July 4th holiday this year. We decided to take it easy since it was a work night. We invited some friends to come over to grill and have a few drinks. Everyone brought something and was hard at work prepping for our grill feast before the fireworks!

With a trip to the Farmer's Market earlier in the week, my friend Virginia and I had gathered all of the sides and fixin's (as we say in the South) for our 4th of July feast!

We started the evening with a few appetizers, as any party should. I made guacamole and put out fresh salsa. Virginia made Deviled Eggs that were scarfed down in about 2.5 minutes!  

We had fresh cherry tomatoes with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, grilled vegetables and corn from the Farmer's Market.

The boys decided to throw a few steaks on the grill to go along with all of the vegetables. The five boys put their head together and incorporated a few new tips for the steaks. First they scored the steaks (to prevent the ends of the sirloins from curling), then they used half an onion to rub the grill grate for extra flavor and to apply oil to the grates. One of the guys even picked some basil from our garden to throw on his steak.

With all of the grilling going on, we thought it would be the perfect day to bust out our jalapeño poppers! I know what you are thinking, deep fried. But not in this house!!

This is a delicious and healthy version using a whole jalapeño, cheese and bacon (which you can leave off to make vegetarian). Everything can be prepped ahead of time, and thrown on the grill with other things. We had both grills going on this day, so I squeezed them in between the corn and mushrooms.

Grilled Jalapeño Poppers

Yields: 12 poppers
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10-15 minutes

12 whole jalapeños
4 ounces cream cheese, slightly softened
1 cup favorite cheese, shredded (I use a sharp Vermont cheddar or Gruyere)
12 slices of bacon (or prosciutto if preferred) (can leave this off if vegetarian)
toothpicks
* optional ingredients for the filling are chives, garlic, pimentos or red pepper finely chopped, cooked sausage, etc. The possibilities are endless!

First, soak the wooden toothpicks in water for at least 30 minutes before grilling. Heat your grill to medium-high heat.

Cut the jalapeños in half lengthwise and scrape out the membrane and seeds with a small spoon. If you would like a hotter popper, leave some of the seeds in the jalapeno. I usually do half and half for a variety. Make sure to keep the halves for each jalapeno together so they are matched up.

In a medium sized bowl, mix the cream cheese and shredded cheese together until well blended. Here is where you can add in any additional ingredients that you wish for the filling.

With a small spoon, fill one half of the jalapeño with the cheese filling until it is slightly overflowing, but can still place the other half of the jalapeño on top so they connect. Fill all jalapeños with the filling. Pull out your bacon and slice the pieces in half. (Note, it is easier to work with chilled bacon). If your bacon is really thin, use a whole piece. You can also leave off the bacon for a vegetarian version, but still use a toothpick to keep the jalapeño closed. Wrap a half a piece of bacon around the popper and use a toothpick to secure it. Repeat for all jalapeños.

Place poppers on a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, that has been sprayed with cooking spray or olive oil. Grill for about 10-15 minutes, depending on your grill**. You want the bacon to be cooked and crisp and the peppers to have a good grill marks. This works best on a charcoal grill.

**You can also bake these at 400F for 15-20 minutes.

4th of July Recipe Ideas

The nation's birthday, a day to get together with friends and family in your most patriotic outfit and grill while you drink fun cocktails and watch your neighbor set off fireworks from his driveway. I couldn't think of a better day! This year, the holiday falls in the middle of the week, so planning ahead is a must. There is a recipe on KettlerCuisine for every culinary need this holiday.

Side Dish Ideas

Most are probably either hosting a cookout, attending one or packing a picnic. Side dishes tend to be abundant for the July 4th holiday. Since the host of the celebration usually takes care of the main course (i.e. meat), guests are always asked to bring a side to share. Here are some of our favorites from the blog:

• Kale Salad
• Roasted Vegetable Couscous
• Roasted Grapes with goat cheese
• Caramelized Fennel and Pancetta Salad - can also be an appetizer
• Fruit Salad
• Mango and Black Bean Salsa
• Grilled Romaine Salad

Master of Grill-ology

If you find yourself hosting a shindig, try the Buttermilk-Brined Pork Chops. These are the most tender and juicy chops you will ever eat, not to mention super easy to prepare AND ahead of time. Several of our friends have tried this recipe with other meats such as a pork tenderloin, chicken thighs or breasts and had equal success. 

Red, White and Blue Desserts

For something on the sweeter side, you can whip up the Chocolate Stout cake with macerated blackberries or top with other fresh summer berries. If you can still find good strawberries, go for the Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble or my grandmother's Strawberry Pie with fresh whipped cream. Whichever dessert you choose, be sure to include fresh summer berries not only for their sweet taste, but their resemblance to our nation's flag!!

Even though the weather is expected to be 100F in North Carolina on Wednesday, this won't stop us from enjoying food, fun and friends. What are some of your favorite July 4th dishes??

Beer Can Chicken

Imagine my excitement when Ryan asked if he could write a guest post on the blog for my birthday! How could a girl say no to that! He had already drafted the post and done all of the research on his topic, which of course is beer! If you know Ryan, you know that he loves good microbrews! He would definitely fall into the category of "beer-snob" :)

Over the weekend, we made a beer-can chicken, which I thought would go perfectly with his post. This was one of the first recipes Ryan and I made when we first moved in together. We figured it was about time to bust it out of the recipe book and make some updates, such as using my chili rub and a Belgian-Style Golden Ale from Triangle Brewing Company. I have included the recipe below. Enjoy the post!

Hubby Guest Post: North Carolina Breweries

Hey there!  Ryan Kettler here, aka “the husband” or “Hubby”.  You may have heard a thing or two about me on this blog and let me preface this article by saying, they’re all true. I love my wife very much. There are a lot of things I love about her, but right at the top of that list is the amazing food she cooks for me on a daily basis. I know you’ve read about some of these superb dishes on this very blog! I could not have chosen a better person to spend the rest of my life with!

One of my passions in life is great beer.  I’m not talking about any of the “Big 3” of Budweiser, Coors, or Miller.  Those beers are acceptable for 3 reasons; quantity, cost, and hot days. The beers I’ve grown to love are brewed in small, craft batches by microbreweries across the United States. These beers should be enjoyed in their own specific glass and should be sipped, not chugged, glugged, or bong’d. There’s a good reason behind this advice, most craft beers have an alcohol content of 6-13%, compared to the 3-4% range of the big 3. Don’t fall for the gimmicks of the big 3; wide-mouths, vortex necks, air holes, color-changing cans, etc.  If you haven’t noticed, most, if not all of these gimmicks have the same end-result in mind. DRINK MORE OF OUR CRAPPY BEER AT A QUICKER PACE SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO TASTE IT AND HAVE TO BUY MORE SOONER.

The “microbrewery revolution”, as I call it, is quickly sweeping over the nation. We’re very lucky to live in the Raleigh-Durham area as we’re spoiled with some awesome home-grown breweries such as Big Boss, Lonerider, Roth Brewing Company, Triangle Brewing Company, Carolina Brewing Company, and Aviator Brewing Company among others. North Carolina as a state is leading the "revolution" with new breweries opening all the time.  Here’s a map of all the breweries in North Carolina.

We’ve also been blessed to have some top-notch establishments open up in the area such as Bottle Revolution and Tasty Beverage Company in Raleigh and Sam’s Quik Shop in Durham. At these places, you we can purchase beers that you can’t normally find in the supermarkets at modest prices, much to the chagrin of my wife. :)

People in our wonderful state love good beer. They also love amazing food. The realization that beer is deliciously complex in flavor has been the impetus for many fine-dining establishments to start offering a beer list that’s often comparable, if not more impressive, than the wine list!

There’s a good reason for this.  The flavors found in craft beers run the gamut; from citrus, floral, smoke, chocolate, vanilla, coffee, oak, bourbon, chili, coconut and many more.  There has been much debate over what pairs better with food, beer or wine. It’s the battle of the beer-snobs vs. the wine-snobs. I, of course, am biased. I love beer with food. Not only because of the flavor, but also the price! You’ll typically save at least $3-4 by ordering a beer with dinner instead of a glass of wine.  Plus, you want to support your local economy, so don’t buy an overpriced California wine when you could buy a spectacular craft beer brewed right in your backyard!

So you want to try some beer with your food, but you don’t know where to start. I found this helpful chart that you should check out.

My personal favorite style of beer is the India Pale Ale or IPA for short. This style of beer was first brewed in England back in the mid 1800s with high amounts of hops, which are a natural preservative.  Since the beer could stay fresh longer after bottled, it could last the long journey to India, which at the time was a British colony. The hoppy/bitter flavor of an IPA is often times too intense for novice beer drinkers.  If this is the case for you, maybe you start with an amber ale, brown ale, or a kolsch.  All of these beers are much easier on the palette. 

I encourage you to be adventurous.  Try new beer, and try it often.  There are no 2 craft beers that taste the same, so you’re bound to find something you enjoy eventually. Cheers!

Beer Can Chicken

Yields: 4-6 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes 
Cook Time: 70-75 minutes

1 4-5lb whole organic chicken

3 T of my chili rub (could also use Old Bay)
2 tsp olive oil (or butter)
salt and pepper
1 can of favorite beer (used Golden Ale)

Pull the chicken and can of beer out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes prior to roasting. Open the beer and pour out half into a glass. Preheat the oven to 350F and pull out a large baking dish.

To prep the chicken, first remove the giblets and and neck from the cavity (if came with the chicken). Rinse the chicken under water and pat dry. Rub the chicken all over with the olive oil (or butter) and then sprinkle the rub or spice of choice all over the outside of the bird. Be sure to get around the legs, wings and inside the cavity.
 

Lower the chicken onto the beer can, so that the can is inside the cavity and the chicken is standing upright (legs down). If the wings are not up against the chicken, cut a slit in the breast and stick them in there for more even cooking. Place the chicken and beer in a large baking dish and place in the center of the oven. Roast the chicken at 350F for 45 minutes.

Turn the pan around and cook for another 20-25 minutes until a themometer in the thickest part of the thigh reads 160F. When the chicken is finished, pull out of the oven and let rest on the counter for 10-15 minutes. Carefully remove the can from the chicken and discard. Slice the chicken and serve!

We made a quick mushroom-beer sauce to go with our chicken. Saute shallots in butter and add mushrooms. Saute these until the mushrooms cook down and release water. Add in beer, salt and pepper and reduce down. Yummy!