BBQ Season

Hi everyone,
I am interested in new BBQ recipes. I'm bored with our usual stuff and with a hopefully, long sunny summer ahead of us would like some new, tried & true recipes. So if you have any to share, plain, or fancy, would you post them please?

Have a blessed day!
Niki

Bucatini All'Amatriciana

My husband and I were very fortunate to spend our honeymoon in Venice. While there, we bought an authentic, Italian cookbook and since then, have enjoyed trying the various delicious recipes! This particular recipe is our favorite and is so simple to prepare which is nice for me!:) Serve with warm rolls and salad! Enjoy!


- 400 g bucatini noodles (Long, rounded, hollow pasta)

- 200 g streaky bacon

- 300 g ripe, firm tomatoes

- 1/2 onion

- stock

- extra virgin olive oil

- grated pecorino cheese

- salt (to taste)

- chilli powder (to taste)


Plunge the tomatoes into hot water, skin them, remove the seeds and chop. Chop the bacon and brown it in several spoonfuls of oil. As soon as the fat has melted, remove from the pan and lay aside. Saute the sliced onion in the same oil. Add the tomatoes and salt and allow the sauce to thicken for about 10 minutes. Replace the cooked bacon and flavor with chilli powder.
Use the sauce to flavor the bucatini, cooked in boiling salted water and drained when al dente (or not too soft so that is has not absorbed too much water). Sprinkle generously with grated pecorino cheese.

Family Chicken Casserole

2 T. Butter
2 cups Carrots, chopped
1/2 cup chopped Red or Green Pepper
1/2 cup chopped Onion
2 cans Cream of Chicken soup
1/2 cup of Milk
1/4 cup Apple Juice
2 cups cooked Chicken, cut into bite size pieces
2 cups grated Mozz or Mozz/Cheddar mix
3 - 4 cups cooked Rice (or even more)

In large frying pan, melt butter.
Stir in carrots, pepper, onion. Cook until tender crisp.
Add soup, milk, juice, chicken, cheese. Stir to combine and remove from heat.
Spread cooked rice in a greased lasagna pan, or large casserole dish. Spoon chicken mixture over rice

Bake 350 for 45 min. Serves 6 - 8

Note: If you don't have leftover cooked chicken on hand, you can either boil a few chicken breasts in water until cooked, or what I often do is take a small whole chicken and cook it the day before in my crock pot and remove meat from carcass when cooked, or if you don't have that much time, boil the chicken in water for several hours until meat is falling from the bone.
The whole chicken is much more flavourful in casseroles than the chicken breasts. If your feeling extra frugal, throw a whole peeled onion and some roughly chopped celery and carrot into the chicken water. Then strain the water when you've finished cooking the chicken and you will have a nice homemade chicken stock which freezes well. Oh, a bay left in the water as well is nice.

Creamy Potato Soup

Hello Ladies,

I thought I would post a couple of simpler meals. This soup is a family favourite.

3 T. Butter
1 Onion, diced
4 - 6 large potatoes, cubed
3 T. fresh Parsley chopped or a generous sprinkle of dried parsley
3 stalks Celery, chopped
2 large Carrots, chopped ( I use 3-4 easily, we love carrots)
2 t. Salt ( Half when preparing, half to taste when done)
1/4 t. Paprika
Water - enough to almost cover the vegetables in the pot

Saute onion in butter until tender. Add remaining ingredients and cook until vegetables are tender. Add white sauce (recipe below) and stir until blended and heated through. Serves 8 or more.

White Sauce
4 T. Butter
2 T. Flour
1/2 t. Salt
Pepper to taste
4 cups Milk

Melt butter, stir in flour, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring about 1 minute, then whisk milk in, and stir until it is gently boiling and has thickened. Doesn't need to be super thick, it will thicken even more in the soup.

Boterkoek

Tonight there will be a moment of truth - I am attempting to make Boterkoek.

I thought I'd share the Ayer's recipe, as they made it for a skating party and I don't know if I've ever tasted better.

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp (or more) almond extract

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

silvered almonds (optional)

Cream butter, add sugar and beat well. Add slightly beaten egg (save a little for the top), then almond extract and continue beating until smooth. Combine flour and baking powder, add to butter mixture. Knead together. Press into 8-inch round baking pan. Brush top with reserved beaten egg. Sprinkle with almonds if you wish. Bake 30 minutes or until golden at 350 degrees F.

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Between all of us we are either authentically dutch, married to dutch men, or just great cooks/bakers. . .so if you have any suggestions for perfecting this recipe PLEASE comment with your own recipe/habits.

I tried to compare recipes on the net with this one. I found one recipe that insisted everything be kept very cold (she uses frozen butter and a food processor to mix), and another recipe that insisted the butter must be melted and piping hot. . .hmm. . .

Please share your experience!

- Vanessa

Tortilla Soup with Avocado Salsa

Karin and I made this last weekend. I thought it would be a heavy meal. Instead, it was refreshing, yet full of taste. Apparently, this soup is a touted as cold remedy. "Healthful." None of us had colds at the time, so you can't take our word for it.
This provides enough for 4 main courses, or 8 appetizers.

Tortilla Soup with Avocado Salsa

Avocado Salsa:
1 ripe avocado
1 plum tomato
1/2 jalapeno
1 green onion
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
2 t lime juice
1/4 t salt
Note: Double this recipe if you want a chunkier soup. We did!

Tortilla Soup:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 T peanut or canola oil
8 large cloves garlic, peeled
8 cups chicken broth
2 sprigs cilantro
1/2 c green salsa
2 green onions
1/4 fresh chopped cilantro
Bag of tortilla chips
2 limes

SALSA:
1. Cut avocado into cubes and place in a bowl. Add: Seeded and diced tomato and jalapeno; chopped green onion and cilantro; lime juice and salt.
2. Stir and set aside.

SOUP:
1. Flatten chicken breasts with a meat mallet. (I put the chicken between two pieces of waxed paper, and use a rolling pin.) Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add chicken, and scatter garlic around the sides. Cook over med-low heat, flipping chicken once, until chicken is done. Take off the heat. Push garlic off to one side of the pan and mash it with a fork. Pull at the cooked chicken with a fork until it is reduced to shreds. Combine garlic and chicken. Set aside.
2. Prepare broth in a large soup pot, setting aside 1 cup of it. Heat broth over med-high heat along with sprigs of cilantro until boiling. Scoop out the cilantro, and discard. Add chicken mixture, green salsa, green onions, an chopped cilantro. Also, using the reserved cup of broth, deglaze the pan the chicken was cooked in, scraping up any browned bits. Add this to the soup pot.
3. Serve soup with a bowl of tortillas and Avocado Salso, (see below).

Notes: The tortillas and salsa are to be dumped right into your soup. The torillas add saltiness, while the salsa adds substance. Soooooo good.

Baked Pasta and Ricotta Casserole

Here is another casserole recipe that I have made lots of times and everyone loves it. (except Josh, who doesn't like ricotta cheese! ) This one also freezes well - so double the recipe and put one in the freezer for another time, or to give away. This recipe comes from a Milk Calendar recipe book that my mom gave me.

8 oz pasta (eg. penne, ziti, rotini, etc.)
** Cook Pasta. Rinse with cold water. Drain well. Reserve.

1/4 cup butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch of cayenne
** Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add garlic and onion and cook 3-4 min.
Add flour and cook 3 min. stirring often.
Add milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cook gently 5 min.

** Combine:
pasta
sauce
8 oz ricotta
2 cups grated mozzarella
1 can (28 oz) tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

**Pour into a 13x9 inch baking dish.
Sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Bake in a preheated 350 F oven for 25-30 min. until bubbling and brown