Dining With Miss Lil: Mother’s Day Delight

Food

Since Mother’s Day will be celebrated this month I want to recommend you prepare a healthy, grilled meal for the mothers in your life.  The shish kabob recipe below is a one I modified from Fine Cooking magazine.

Build Your Own Shish Kabooba

Prep Time: 40 min     Inactive Prep Time:  2 hr 0 min      Cook Time:   15 min   Level: Easy    Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

Meats for Kabobs:

Dijon-Rosemary Steak:

• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, stemmed
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Lawry’s seasoning salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound sirloin steak, cut into 1-inch cubes

Citrus-Tarragon Chicken:

• 1 orange, zested, then juiced, remainder discarded
• 1 lemon, zested, then juiced, remainder discarded
• 1 lime, zested, then juiced, remainder discarded
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Lawry’s seasoning salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes

Lemon-Garlic Shrimp:

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 shallots, minced
• 1 bay leaf (fresh or dried)
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 1 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 pound (16 to 20 count) shrimp, shelled and deveined

Veggies For Kabobs:

• Bell peppers
• Onions
• Cherry tomatoes
• Mushrooms
• Italian squash
• Baby potatoes, boiled until cooked through
• Corn on the cob, husked and sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds

Balsamic Basting Vinaigrette for Veggies:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Lawry’s seasoning salt and freshly ground pepper

TIP:  If using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for 1 hour to retard charring.

Directions

1. Whisk together all of the Dijon-rosemary steak ingredients (except the steak) in a bowl. Toss the steak in the mixture until evenly coated. Cover and marinate in refrigerator for 2 hours.

2. Whisk together all of the citrus-tarragon chicken ingredients (except the chicken) in a bowl. Toss the chicken in the mixture until evenly coated. Cover and marinate in refrigerator for 2 hours.

3. Whisk together all of the lemon garlic shrimp ingredients (except the shrimp) in a bowl. Toss the shrimp in the mixture until evenly coated. Cover and marinate in refrigerator for 2 hours.

4. Cut vegetables into bite-size pieces.

5. Puree balsamic basting vinaigrette ingredients in a blender for 30 seconds.

6. Place meats, shrimp, and veggies in individual bowls and set out buffet style. Instruct your guests to skewer their own kabobs and baste veggies with balsamic vinaigrette.

7. Grill kabobs directly over heat source for about 10 to 15 minutes, turning 1/4 rotation every 2 to 3 minutes, or until the meat and/or fish is cooked throughout.

Let’s use the grill for desert as well.

Grilled Fresh Pineapple

Slices of fresh pineapple are sprayed with butter flavored PAM cooking spray and coated with a brown sugar and spice mixture, then grilled.

Ingredients:

• 1 Pineapple, cored, peeled & cut into 1/2″ slices (8-12 slices depending on the size)
• 2 generous tsp. grated fresh lime zest
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon (or grind up whole cinnamon sticks)
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg  (or grind up whole nutmeg)
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves (or grind up whole cloves)
• Butter flavored PAM cooking spray
• Haagen Daz vanilla ice cream (optional)

Directions:

Cut the top and bottom off of the pineapple, peel and cut it crosswise into 8-12 rings, about 1/2-inch each.  Use a spoon or apple corer to carve out the center core of each ring.  Set aside.

In a bowl combine ingredients except pineapple and the cooking spray, blending well.

Spray a large grill pan with cooking spray and heat over a medium flame.

Dip each slice of pineapple into butter, then sugar mixture. Shake off excess, place slices on wax paper lined baking sheet, chill one hour.

Grill the pineapple on a grill pan, in 2 or 3 batches, for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until it is nicely brown and grill marks have appeared.

Or you can grill on an outdoor grill but spray with the cooking spray before being heated.

Or grill slices under broiler until browned and sizzling, 5-7 minutes.

Plate each pineapple slice and serve plain or with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of each slice.

Number of Servings: 4-6