Barbecued Sirloin Steak

Not much beats a great steak on the BBQ!  Here is a simple marinade to help that steak along.

2 cups canola or other vegetable oil
1 cup beer
3 cloves roasted garlic, mashed
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp dry powdered mustard
1 tbsp cayenne
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper
One 14 to 15 oz sirloin steak

• Combine marinade ingredients.
• Lay steak in a shallow dish and pour the marinade over the meat, coating both sides.  Refrigerate for 4 to 12 hours.
• Set grill to medium hot and grill steak for about 5 minutes on each side for medium rare, or to your desired degree of doneness.
• Let steak rest on a cutting board for about 5 minutes.   Slice it crosswise against the grain.

Tandoori Salmon Fillets with Mango Mint Relish

A wonderful salmon dish with loads of Indian flavour.  I used Greek Yogurt thinned with a bit of milk for this.  The Mango Mint relish really compliments the salmon.  From Food and Drink Autumn 2003.

MARINADE
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp garam masala or curry paste (I prefer the garam masala)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup plain yogurt
4 salmon fillets, about 175 g each

MANGO MINT RELISH
1 large mango, peeled
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp finely chopped jalapeno pepper
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp chopped mint leaves
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil for brushing salmon

1. Combine garlic, ginger, lemon juice, garam masala, vegetable oil and yogurt.  Spread on salmon. Let marinate for 1 hour.
2. Dice mango into 1/2 inch dice.  Toss with onions, ginger, jalapeno pepper, lime juice and mint leaves.  Season with salt (I omit the salt).  Reserve, refrigerated until needed.
3. Brush salmon with oil then grill salmon flesh side down for 2 minutes, turn over, close lid and grill 5 minutes on skin side or until white juices appear.  Serve relish on the side.

Serves 4

Barbecued Pork

A really great recipe I got from Food and Drink Winter 2000.  A standard take-out Chinese dish that works well with mini pitas brushed with hoisin sauce and toasted in the oven.  Also great with rice or noodles.

2 - 10 oz (600g) pork tenderloins

MARINADE
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp Scotch whisky
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp 5 spice powder
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

GLAZE
1/4 cup honey
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp wine vinegar
1 tbsp scotch whisky
1 tsp sesame oil

1. Place pork in large baking dish (I actually do this in a ziploc freezer bag - I find I get a more even marinade).  In medium bowl, combine marinade ingredients and pour over pork making sure it is well coated.  Marinate pork overnight or at least 6 hours refrigerated.
2. To make glaze, heat honey, soy sauce, vinegar, scotch and sesame oil together in pot.  Stir until well combined and reserve.
3. Preheat oven to 400F.  Place rack over foil lined baking sheet.  Add 1/2 cup water to baking dish.  Place pork on rack.  Brush with glaze.  Roast 10 minutes, turn over and brush with more glaze.  Bake another 10 minutes, glaze again and cook 5 minutes longer or until juices run clear.  
4. Cool, thinly slice and serve on platter.  Scatter with green onions.

Oven Roasted Chicken Breasts with Wild Rice

From the Food and Drink Spring 2000

4 - 6 oz boneless chicken breasts, skin on

Marinade
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp white wine
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp coarsely ground peppercorns
1 tbsp soy sauce

Wild Rice
2 tbsp currants
1 1/2 cups wild rice
3 tbsp butter, unsalted
3 tbsp carrots, diced 1/4 inch
3 tbsp celery, diced 1/4 inch
4 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Pinch thyme

1. Trim chicken breasts.  Combine marinade ingredients in a large bowl.  Toss chicken with marinade.  Cover and refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours, turning occasionally.  **I usually put the whole thing in a freezer ziploc bag as I find they marinate more evenly.
2. Plump up currants by covering with hot water.  Leave for 15 minutes.  Drain and reserve fruit.
3. In a pot with a tight fitting lid, heat butter over medium heat.  Add carrots, onion and celery and saute until tender not brown, about 4 to 5 minutes.  Add rice, stir over moderate heat for 2 minutes.  Add stock, bay leaf, seasonings and thyme.  Bring to a boil.  Cover pan, reduce heat and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until rice is tender.  Fluff rice, correct seasoning, and then stir in currants.  Reserve until needed. 
4. Preheat oven to 400F.
5. Drain chicken.  Heat non stick skillet over medium high heat.  Add chicken, skin side down and saute until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.  Turn over and place in an oven proof baking dish.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until juices are clear.
6. Serve over wild rice.

Mediterranean Pork Kebabs - and variations

You can't go wrong with a kebab, they are versatile and fun.  Mix up the meat and veggies to what your preference is or what the fridge holds!  The trick to kebabs is cutting everything to about the same size so it cooks evenly.

1/2 cup Garlic and Herb marinade
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tsp each dried oregano leaves and lemon juice
500 g pork tenderloin cut into 16 bite size chunks
16 each bite size chunks zucchini and cherry tomatoes

1. Soak 8 long bamboo skewers in cold water for 30 minutes.  Preheat the grill to medium high and grease the grate.  Stir the marinade with the ketchup, oregano and lemon juice until well combined.  Toss half of the mixture with the pork and vegetables; let stand for 15 minutes.
2. Thread 2 pieces each of pork, zucchini and cherry tomatoes alternately onto each skewer.  Grill the skewers; turn as needed and baste occasionally with remaining marinade mixture for 10 to 12 minutes or until pork is cooked through.  Makes 4 servings.

For Steakhouse Mushroom Kebabs

• replace Garlic & herb marinade with steak spice marinade
• replace ketchup with Diana Marinade Western Smokehouse flavour
• replace pork tenderloin with beef top sirloin
• replace Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes with Button mushrooms and red onion

For Spicy Tex Mex Kebabs

• replace Garlic and Herb marinade with Diana Marinade Spicy Southwest flavour
• replace ketchup with Diana Sauce original
• omit oregano and lemon juice
• replace pork tenderloin with chicken breast
• replace zucchini and cherry tomatoes with red and green peppers

Grilled Tomato Pasta Salad

A salad with great variety and colour.  Lots of flavour.

2 lb (1kg) cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2/3 cup Diana Marinade, Garlic and Herb flavour
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cups cooked orzo or other pastina (tina pasta shapes)
3 cups coarsely chopped baby spinach
1 cup coarsely shredded basil leaves
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Toasted pine nuts

1. Preheat the grill to mediumhigh.  Line the grate with a sheet of heavy duty foil.  Place the tomatoes in a large bowl and sprinkle with pepper.  Stir the marinade in a separate bowl with the lemon zest and lemon juice.  Gently toss the tomatoes with half of this mixture.  Whisk the olive oil into the remaining marinade mixture in the bowl; reserve.
2. Brush the foil with a little extra olive oil.  Place the tomatoes on the foil, cut side up.  Grill the tomatoes for 5 minutes.  Reduce the heat to medium and grill for 15 minutes or until wrinkled and browned.   Lift the foil with the tomatoes and any juices onto a baking sheet.  Gently scrape the tomatoes into a bowl.
3. Toss the orzo with the reserved oil marinade mixture.  Gently stir in the spinach and half each of the tomatoes, basil and Feta cheese.  Transfer to a deep plater or bowl.  Garnish the salad with the remaining tomato, basil, cheese and pine nuts.  Season with additional fresh ground pepper to taste.

Makes 8 servings

Texas Beef Tenderloin

a wonderful summer BBQ recipe

4 beef tenderloin medallions, each about 1 inch thick
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
1/2 cup Marinade, Spicy Southwest flavour
1 tsp chili powder
2 cobs corn, husked
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 avocado, sliced

• Sprinkle the medallions with salt and pepper.  Stir 1/3 cup of the marinade with the chili powder. Reserve 2 tbsp of this mixture.  Brush the remaining mixture over the steaks and marinate for at least 15 minutes, or refrigerate for up to 2 hours.
• Preheat the grill to medium high and grease lightly.  Blanch the corn in boiling water for 3 minutes.  Brush with the reserved marinade-chili mixture.  Grill for 10 minutes, turning often, or until well marked.  Cool to room temperature.  Stand the cobs on their ends and cut the kernels from the cobs using a sharp knife.  Toss the corn with the remaining marinade, red onion, coriander and lime juice.
• Grill the medallions for 5 to 7 minutes, turning once or until medium rare.  Fan the sliced avocado on four dinner plates.  Spoon over the corn relish and arrange the grilled steaks over top.  Makes 4 servings.

Fish Sticks for Kids

It is so important for kids to eat fish - but it is so difficult to get them to eat it.  I have a 4 year old who thinks that french fries are a meal on their own!  Even she gobbled these up.

1 1/2 lbs salmon

Teriyaki Marinade:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar or honey (or maple syrup)
2 tbsp lime or orange juice
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, crushed

Ginger-Orange Marinade:
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp grated fresh ginger

1. Cut fish fillets into strips or into cubes; place them in a bowl or large resealable bag.
2. Stir together marinade ingredients and pour over the fish, tossing gently to coat the fish evenly.  Refrigerate for an hour or up to several hours.
3. When ready to cook, soak bamboo skewers in water for at least 10 minutes to prevent them from burning.  Preheat the oven to 425F.
4. Thread the fish pieces onto the skewers, leaving about 1 cm between chunks or winding strips back and forth in an S shape.  Place skewers on a baking sheet about 2.5 cm apart.
5. Bake for 10 minutes, until just cooked through

Asian Inspired Steak

Fantastic flavour!  The original recipe called for flank steak but I ended up with some rib eyes that I saw for a good price.  Either way the marinade will help a tough cut of meat or flavour a good one.

Marinade
1/2 medium onion, sliced
1-2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil (essential - do not substitute)
juice of 1/2 lime
1 tbsp maple syrup or brown sugar
sprinkling of chili flakes

1 1/2 - 3 lb (.8 to 1.5 kg) steak - your choice
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place all the marinade ingredients in a large zip top bag and squish to combine.  Add the steak, seal the bag and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
2. When you are ready to cook, remove steak from bag.  Discarding marinade.  Sprinkle meat with a little salt and pepper.   Cook on a grill, preheated to high for 7 to 9 minutes each side for medium rare, turning once.  
3. After cooking, let meat rest 5 to 10 minutes to retain its juices.  Slice thinly across the grain, on the diagonal and serve with rice or stir fried veggies or on a bed of salad greens.

Singapore Noodles with Burnished Barbecue Chicken

Vegetables, noodles and chicken you can't go wrong with this one!  The flavour will vary with the amount and type of curry you use.  I used a Japanese Curry powder that I had made for a previous recipe, but use what you enjoy.  Make sure you prep by chopping all vegetables prior to cooking.  This would also work well with a chow mein noodle.  Got this from the Food and Drink Summer 2011 book.

Chicken
1/3 cup (80 ml) reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp (30 ml) vegetable oil
2 tsp (10 ml) pureed ginger root
8 boneless skinless chicken breasts, each about 8 oz (250 g)
1/4 cup (60 ml) honey

Noodles
12 oz (375 g) rice  vermicelli
hot water
3 tbsp (45 ml) vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
6 carrots, thinly sliced on the diagonal
4 stalks celery, thinly sliced on the diagonal
2 onions, thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 sweet red peppers, thinly sliced
2 tbsp (30 ml) minced ginger root
1/3 cup (80 ml) Indian yellow curry paste
2 tbsp (30 ml) reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp (15 ml) Asian hot chili sauce
Chopped fresh cilantro
Lime wedges

1. For the chicken, combine soy sauce, oil and ginger in a shallow dish or sealable plastic bag.  Add chicken and turn to coat.  Cover or seal bag and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or for up to 1 day.
2. Preheat barbecue to medium.
3. Remove chicken from marinade, discarding any excess.  Grill, covered and turning once, 5 to 6 minutes per side or until no longer pink inside.  Brush 1 side with honey, turn and grill for 1 minute.  Brush remaining side with honey, turn and grill for 1 minute or until well glazed.  Transfer to a bowl or cutting board and let cool slightly. Shred chicken into large pieces or slice thinly.  Keep warm.
4. Soak rice vermicelli in a large bowl of hot water for about 5 minutes until softened or according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.
5. Heat 1 tbsp (15 ml) of the oil over high heat in a large wok and swirl to coat.  Pour in eggs and fry without stirring until almost set.  Stir to break up eggs slightly and fry until just set, then transfer to a plate.  Add half of remaining oil to wok.  In 2 batches, stir-fry carrots, celery and onions for 3 to 4 minutes or until onions are softened.  Transfer to a bowl.  Add remaining oil between batches.  Add garlic, red peppers, ginger and curry paste to wok and stir-fry for 3 minutes or until peppers are tender.
6. Return carrot mixture to wok and add noodles, soy sauce and chili sauce.  Fry, stirring gently, but thoroughly, with 2 large spatulas, until noodles are well coated in spices and steaming hot.  Add eggs and stir just to combine.  Arrange noodles on a platter and add chicken.  Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges.  Serve extra chili sauce on the side.

Serves 10 to 12