My Judy the Foodie

BBQ Tips and a Toolset Giveaway

May 24, 2013 By sharib 5 Comments

Don’t forget to vote for My Judy the Foodie

in the Top 25 Foodie Moms 2013 Contest.

You can vote 1x per 24-hour time period until 6/4/13!!

So, go ahead spread the word and, vote here!

Memorial Day weekend is upon us! Hopefully you’ll be able to enjoy some fresh-grilled meats or veggies at some point over the weekend.

If you find yourself working the grill, don’t forget these helpful tips for cooking your best meat:

Steak should be at room temp to ensure optimum grilling (approximately 15 minutes).
Just before grilling, pat steak dry, brush with a light coating of olive oil and season with Kosher salt and pepper as desired.
Add salt no more than 2 minutes before grilling to avoid drying out of meat.
Always wait for the grill to reach medium heat as opposed to high heat to avoid charring your meat.
Never cut into a steak on the grill. Use your finger to test its doneness.
You should work on a clean grill grate that has been oiled with canola oil – avoid the sprays.
Flare ups are a big part of grilling caused by the fat dripping on the coals! It’s OK and provides desired smokiness.
Once off the grill, allow your steaks to rest before cutting (approx. 5 minutes). That’ll keep all the juices inside.

And, here’s some helpful information on steaks:

T-Bones – Good for those who want the best of both worlds in a steak—New York Strip and Tenderloin. They’re best grilled to take on bold flavors.

NY Strip – Otherwise known as the Steak Lover’s Steak. It’s got great flavor and tenderness and can be cooked in any manner.

Filet – Cut from the tenderloin….the most tender cut of steak.

Rib Eye – Most popular steak because it’s LOADED with flavor. It’s best grilled and remains tender through medium to medium-well.

Top Sirloin – Best for cookouts because of its unique flavor and tenderness. It can be grilled, broiled, sautéed or pan-fried.

Today my family cooks outside on a gas grill, but the smell of the charcoal burning and the sounds of the steaks sizzling definitely bring back memories of Mom (not Dad) cooking steaks during those hot summer nights. She would be out in the back yard manning the little round Weber grill overflowing with steaks and Silver Queen corn.

Boy do I miss those days…

It’s time for you to get your grill on!

Let’s kick off the summer grilling season right…

Photo courtesy of Amazon.com

Enter to win:

A Deluxe Cuisinart 10-Piece Grilling Set ($60 value):

Set includes Chef’s Spatula, Grill Tongs, Chef’s Fork, Set of 4 Skewers, Grill Brush, 2 Replacement Heads
Leather carry case included perfect for storage and travel
Forged stainless steel construction
Handcrafted Pakka Wood Handles
Classic Cuisinart Quality

photo courtesy of Amazon.com

Bobby Flay’s Grill it Cook Book:

The book contains 150 simple and delicious recipes organized by ingredient, with chapters covering juicy beef steaks and succulent shrimp, of course, as well as perhaps less traditional grill fare such as asparagus, fruit, lamb, scallops, potatoes, and squash, so you can expand your backyard repertoire. Bobby teaches you how to grill each staple perfectly while also offering an arsenal of ideas for how to transform your favorite ingredients into something inventive and satisfying.

Giveaway Details

One (1) winner will receive a Deluxe Cuisinart 10-Piece Grill Set & a copy of Bobby Flay’s Grill It book.

How to Enter

To enter to win, simply leave a comment in the post letting telling me what you’d like to make on the grill this summer. That’s it! You’re entered to win!

Additional (Optional) Entries

To up your chances of winning, you can receive up to FOUR additional entries to win by doing the following (these are optional, not required):

1. Subscribe to My Judy the Foodie by RSS. Come back and let me know you’ve subscribed in an additional comment.

2. Become a fan of My Judy the Foodie on Facebook. Come back and let me know you became a fan in an additional comment.

3. Follow My Judy the Foodie on Pinterest. Come back and let me know you’ve followed in an additional comment.

4. Follow @myjudythefoodie on Twitter. Come back and let me know you’ve followed in an additional comment.

The Fine Print

Deadline: Monday, May 27th 2012 at 11:59pm EST.

Winner: A winner will be chosen at random using Random.org and announced at the top of this post. The winner will also be notified via email and the My Judy the Foodie fan page on Facebook; if the winner does not respond within 24 hours, another winner will be selected.

Disclaimer: I was not compensated to write this post. All opinions expressed in this post are (as always) my own opinions.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: BBQ, BBQ meat, BBQ tips, Bobby Flay 5 Comments

Summer BBQ Kick-Off

May 22, 2013 By sharib Leave a Comment

Don’t forget to vote for My Judy the Foodie in the Top 25 Foodie Moms 2013 Contest. You can vote 1x per 24-hour time period until 6/4/13!! So, go ahead spread the word and, vote here!

It’s almost officially SUMMERTIME!

School is winding down and my kids are ready to take full advantage of their carefree days. Not only are we breaking out the super high SPF sunscreen, we’re also tweaking our grocery list and stocking up on essentials so we’re prepared for any impromptu summer picnics and grill outs. Because we live in the concrete jungle of NYC, where our “back yard” is shared with hundreds of strangers, we seek out every opportunity to escape the hustle and bustle of the city, to go east and hang out and grill out. Plus, our annual garden planting takes place in two weeks!

As I’m constantly learning each new summer, it’s important to stretch your imagination at the grill and to try to break the meat barrier. And, there are plenty of veggie and fruit side dishes I’ve leaf-eared for our summer repertoire which I hope make it on to your summer BBQ hit list too. So, enjoy, there’s lots more to come.

Do you have any unusual summer recipes for your grill? Share them with us!

In the meantime, try these recipes:

Grilled Ribeye w/ Coca-Cola Reduction (created by Daniel Nemec of Kirby’s Steakhouse in Atlanta)

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

4 8-ounce Premium Ribeye Steaks
¼ cup cracked black pepper
Truffle salt to taste

Steak Sauce

2 liters of Coca-Cola
2 cups veal or beef stock

Instructions:

Coat steaks with black pepper and salt to taste, cover and set aside, allow the steaks to rest for 30 minutes.
Preheat your grill and let it heat to medium high.
In a medium sauce pan combine Coca-Cola and beef stock, reduce mixture by 2/3.
Grill steaks until desired temperature is reached.
Plate the steaks and ladle the sauce equally on top of each steak.
Plate steaks and ladle the sauce equally on top of each steak.

Grilled Potato Salad (created by chef Daniel Nemec of Kirby’s Steakhouse in San Antonio)

Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients:

Salad Dressing

1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons steak sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Potato Rub Seasoning

2 teaspoons celery salt
2 teaspoons white pepper
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped

4 large potatoes, diced into medium pieces
1 large sweet yellow onion, sliced onion ring style
2 large jalapeno peppers, cut in half and deseeded
1/4 cup olive oil
8 slices thick cut bacon, cooked and diced

Instructions:

In a medium bowl, combine salad dressing ingredients, set aside and refrigerate.
IN a small bowl, combine potato rub seasoning ingredients, set aside.
Preheat grill to medium heat. If using charcoal, until briquets are consistently ashed over.
In a large bowl combine potatoes, sweet yellow onions, jalapeno peppers, potato rub, seasoning and olive oil. Mix until ingredients are completely covered.
Place mixture on a grill basket and grill until potatoes are fork tender, about 2 minutes. Cool mixture completely.
Roughly chop the sweet yellow onions and jalapeno peppers. Mix all ingredients with the salad dressing and serve.

Grilled Beefsteak Tomato w/Himalayan Pink Rock Salt Crust (recipe created by Chef Eric Lackey of Flamestone American Grill in Florida)

Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients:

4 large vine ripe tomatoes – preferably large steak tomatoes
4 ounces Himalayan pink rock salt or rock sea salt
4 ounces olive oil

Instructions:

Trim off top and bottom of tomato and remove core for grilling.
Rub each tomato with 1 ounce oi and 1 ounce salt. Let stand in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Preheat the grill to high heat or, if using charcoal, until briquets are consistently ashed over.
Find hot spot and grill tomato until it starts to blister on top and bottom, about 4 minutes. Move to medium heat and cook until tender to touch (not mushy and collapsing), about 8 minutes.

Filed Under: Main Dishes, Recipes Tagged With: BBQ, grill recipes, Summer BBQ Leave a Comment

Avocado Pudding

May 20, 2013 By sharib 1 Comment

The type of pudding I remember eating as a child came directly from those square plastic containers that probably sat on the shelves of the supermarket for weeks. This same pudding was endorsed ad nauseum in the 1980′s by Bill Cosby in those iconic commercial’s where he’s featured licking the chocolate Jello “puddin’” off his spoon while surrounded by dozens of salivating kids. It’s probably safe to say every brown bag school lunch packed by Mom contained a jello pudding accompaniment for dessert.

My go to chocolate pudding as a kid….and a new mom

Continuing the tradition, up until very recently, my kids were beneficiaries of these ready-made dessert packs too. However, much like my recent discoveries with the pre-made Nutella spread, outside of its convenience, I was desperate to find a healthier, less sugar-laden version. It was also equally important for me to attempt to recreate this dessert using ingredients I could actually recognize!

You can imagine how thrilled I was to literally stumble upon a recipe for Raw Chocolate Pudding over at the Nourishing Gourmet! My prayers were immediately answered. The use of avocados as the base for the pudding is highly appealing to me, not to mention that it’s full of healthy fats.

Avocados are used as the base for the pudding

And, I love the natural sweeteners from the ripe banana and the raw honey as well as the antioxident benefits from the raw cocoa.

Ah, raw honey– a natural sweetener

Bottom line, all the ingredients can easily be found at your local market. You might not have Coconut Oil in your pantry but, you should be able to find it in anywhere. Plus, the recipe couldn’t be simpler– much like the Pomegranate Smoothie. You can’t argue with a recipe that only requires you to dump all ingredients into a mixer and push “blend” to finish the job. After just 30 minutes of refrigeration, I had a light and creamy pudding snack….perfect to satiate an afternoon sweet craving. Plus, I ate it the next morning for breakfast with some granola sprinkled on top.

Before I served some to my kids, I added in a teaspoon of agave nectar sweetener and mixed it throughout. I knew it needed another dose of sweetness to help seal the deal (for them). While I did get one thumb up on the tough rating scale, I know it’ll take a couple more “raw pudding samplings” to help fade their years of memories eating those sugary puddings to which they’d become addicted.

Either way, I will be making this again and again, each time with little tweaks.

Now it’s your turn! Enjoy.

Raw Chocolate Pudding (adapted from the Nourishing Gourmet)

Ingredients:

2 avocados, peeled and diced
1 ripe banana, peeled
1/4 cup raw honey
3 tablespoons coconut oil in liquid form
1/3 cup raw cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon agave nectar sweetener or 1 packet Truvia sweetener

Instructions:

Combine ingredients in a high speed blender and puree until everything is completely blended. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes just to chill it.
Enjoy with any additional healthy toppings of raw fruit or granola..
If pudding tastes too bland, add in 1 teaspoon Natural Agave Nectar or one packet of Truvia to enhance its sweetness.