Recipes for your next BBQ

Okay so here’s the deal, I LOVE to cook and inventing my own recipes so I thought why not use my blog as a place to share some cooking ideas and recipes? And seeing as the weather has been so nice lately and I’m itching for a BBQ party on the backyard deck with great friends and good food, I thought I would share my “Foodspirations” with you all! So here are some of my recipes…

Pineapple Rum Chicken Legs

For 18-24 chicken legs.

Seasoning Rub:

2 tbsp. cumin

2 tbsp. fresh lime zest

Juice of 1 lime

2 tbsp. packed brown sugar

2 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 tbsp sea salt

Directions:

Rub the chicken legs with the seasoning mix at least 4 hours before grilling… I usually do it over night. Heat grill to medium. Grill chicken 30 minutes, brush with pineapple rum sauce. (Recipe to follow) Grill another 10 minutes, brushing with sauce often.

Pineapple Rum Sauce:

2 cups diced ripe pineapple

1 cup orange marmalade

1 tablespoon minced ginger

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 cup dark rum

Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Puree the pineapple in a food processor or blender. Pour it into a heavy nonreactive saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the ginger, marmalade and soy sauce. Let simmer until the marmalade melts, whisking to blend.

Increase the heat to high and whisk in the rum. Let the sauce boil until thick and richly flavored, 3 to 5 minutes. Taste the sauce for seasoning, adding more soy sauce as necessary and salt and pepper to taste (you may not need much salt on account of the soy sauce).

Note: you can also use this recipe to cook a whole chicken, just wings or breast. Also, if you are making the recipe for your children and don’t want to use rum. (Even though most of the alcohol burns off during cooking) You may substitute it with pineapple juice.

Twice Cooked Smashed Tatters

This is more a method than a strict recipe. Don’t crowd the pan – let each potato have its space to stretch out.

• 5 to 6 mini-size red skinned potatoes for each person you are serving
• Olive oil
• Sea salt (or kosher salt, or seasoned salt)
• Freshly ground pepper.

In a large pot boil potatoes with some salt till they are almost ready (still hard in the centre)

Remove potatoes from water and arrange them in the baking pan, with a couple of inches to spare between each potato (enough space for potato to spread out). One by one, squish each potato flat, to about 1/2 inch thick. I do this by placing a small plate over each potato, one at a time, and pushing hard with the heel of my hand. The potato skin will break and the soft potato will spread out yet will remain one piece.

Drizzle olive oil on each potato and sprinkle each with a pinch of salt and a grinding of fresh pepper.

Bake about 30 minutes, in a 425 degree oven until they are browned and crispy.

Corn with Flavored Butter

Prep corn any way you prefer. (I par-boil mine and place it on the grill for the last few minuets to get char marks and I brush it with my flavored butter.) But you can just boil it and the use the butter at the table.

Flavored butter:

• ·      ½ brick of unsalted butter (room temperature)
• ·      2 tbsp of any herbs you would like to add or
• ·      2 tbsp of your favorite Kraft salad dressing

And just mix them together…

(I use the salad dressing a lot instead of fresh herbs, mostly because I’ll have it in my fridge already. My favorites are Greek, Sundried Tomato, and Mango Chipotle)

ENJOY.