Blackened Cajun Spice Mix

A pork chop in the blackened seasoning mix, pan fried in a mixture of olive oil & butter, YUM!

Once upon my husband worked at a restaurant for a certified master chef.  The blackened seasoning that they used on fish, sauteed in butter and served over spinach was the bomb. The guy was nice enough to share this with my hubby. 

We've been looking for the recipe for many years now, but could not locate that slip of paper... basically we've been trying to locate it for about 15-20 years!

After years of wondering, we finally located the recipe in a binder of recipes that I had collected to "save" (back before you had the internet... hahaha!).

Here's the recipe that I adapted the measurements so you can make a SANE size recipe at home.  We've been arguing about whether the original has too much salt (which I believe to be true... and my hubby doesn't agree). 

Makes about 2 cups, plenty to share with friends and family!  We use this on fish, chicken, pork and even steak.  It would probably be great on a cauliflower "steak" too.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup kosher salt (use 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp if you like things salty...)

1/4 cup onion powder or granulated onion (NOT onion salt!)

1/4 cup white pepper

1/4 cup cayenne pepper (if you are afraid of too spicy, you can reduce this to 1-2 Tbsp...)

1/4 cup paprika

1/4 cup dried thyme

2 Tbsp ground pepper

Mix in a bowl with a whisk to fully mix.  Save in an air tight jar, or jars.  Sprinkle liberally onto meats before grilling or pan frying.  

Southwestern Grilled Pork Tenderloin

I love living near wine country!
In Washington you can head out to Woodinville, to visit winery's and do some tastings. Okay, so almost all of the vineyards are in Eastern Washington, the tasting rooms are plentiful in Woodinville.  We belong to a lot of the wine clubs, some fancy and some with everyday selections.

Kestrel is one of those wineries... however, they have both fancy and every day choices.  We keep thinking we'll drop our membership, but then we stop in and have a tasting.  We both agree that they are the most friendly and comfortable places to sip and try new wines!  Another perk?  They have two other tasting rooms in the Eastern part of the state, Leavenworth and Prosser.  

This last weekend, we stopped on a Sunday just to see if we had anything to pick up (wink, wink) and to our complete happiness we had two pick ups to take home!  Yay!  
One was a two bottle pack of their 2011 Winemaker's Select co-ferment Syrah.  Inside the bag, was a recipe they shared as perfect to pair with their wine.  

Yup, you guessed it.  It was this one.  Knowing I had two thawed pork tenderloins to use, I made this.  I only changed up the recipe a little, adding salt & pepper to the marinade/paste.

(I forgot to photograph the garlic, but I did use it)

Serves 6
Ingredients

2 pork tenderloin (about 1 1/2 to 2 lbs), any silverskin/membranes removed
5 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil

 In a small bow, mix all the ingredients (except the pork) well into a thick, dark paste.  Rub mixture over all the surfaces of the tenderloins.

 I dabbed the mixture all over the pork and then put them in a bag and "Massaged" them all over- - keeping my hands clean.  Refrigerate and let sit for 2-24 hours.  I did it for about 6 hours, and I thought it was great.

Grill over medium fire, or a smoker at 250 degrees, for about 20-25 minutes.  The internal temperature should reach 145 degrees F.  Remove and cover with foil, letting it rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Serve with grilled corn on the cob, or a Southwestern Edamame Salad

Here's what it looked like after taking off the grill.

Rosemary Buttermilk Grilled Chicken

Moist, flavorful, easy to make and figure friendly- This recipe is a keeper.

I was inspired by a friend's facebook post, who wrote about making another friend's Buttermilk Rosemary Chicken.  I didn't think much about it at the time, but kept thinking back on it during the day since I had both chicken breasts and buttermilk in the fridge, and a nice pot of rosemary on my deck.  So I Googled those ingredients and up popped this classic Martha Stewart recipe.

I decided that maybe Martha missed a couple things in the original, so I took the liberties that I always do and changed it a bit, adding chives and garlic.  I would recommend the buttermilk marinade and making it your own by adding herbs that you have on hand, and even a little Tabasco to give it a kick.  

The finished chicken was moist, tangy and delicious.  I do have to say, since I am well aware there are lots of buttermilk-haters out there.... no one will be able to tell that the marinade is buttermilk.  I'm going to do this again with chicken thighs and even a pork tenderloin to see what happens. 

Do plan ahead and marinate the chicken the day before you want to grill it!  It makes a difference.  This was so easy, I might even recommend that you do this on a Sunday night and have a nice easy dinner for later during the work week.

Serves 4
Ingredients

4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
1 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp rosemary, stripped from the stems, and lightly chopped
1 Tbsp fresh chives, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
Salt & Pepper 

In a Ziploc bag, add the chicken and all the rest of the ingredients. Mix it up by massaging the bag and place back in the fridge, marinating over night.

When you are ready to eat, fire up the grill to a nice hot temperature.  You can oil the grates so that your chicken doesn't stick, or spray the chicken directly with a little cooking spray, like Pam, before placing on the grill.  I know that sounds a bit crazy, but it worked like a champ!  Whatever you do, DO NOT spray the Pam on the hot grates- - fire hazard!

Once the chicken is on the grill, turn down the heat to a medium and grill on each side for 4-5 minutes, making sure not to over cook.  Serve at once! 

The leftovers of this dish, we sliced up and took for lunches with some salad.  So good and flavorful even a couple days later.

Balinese Grilled Chicken

This is a pretty simple dish with nice intense flavors, but really not too spicy when it's all done.  I know, I know, I really like spicy, so not too spicy to me could mean something else entirely.  But really, I would have served this to my kids, and the 15 year old boy who ate it seemed to love it.

I was inspired by a recipe in Food & Wine, but it called for a whole chicken and some other ingredients that I didn't have.  I also wanted to use chicken thighs, which I prefer over cooking a whole chicken, but maybe not quite as much as chicken breasts!  I know people LOVE chicken thighs, and I know people who HATE them, but they are moist and very economical.  This recipe could work for breasts too, but you'd have to be very careful not to dry the chicken out.

Serve with Indonesian Pan Fried Noodles- Mie Goreng which I posted yesterday, and dinner is ready! Heck, it would be great with plain rice too!

Serves 6
Ingredients

3 red or green chilies, seeded
1 onion, diced

5-6 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus more for brushing
2 limes, juiced

1-2 tsp Salt and lots of freshly ground pepper

3-4 lbs of chicken thighs, about 12 thighs
                   (or chicken breasts, if you prefer)

2 limes, quartered for serving

In a food processor, combine the garlic, chiles, onion, ginger and turmeric and pulse until finely chopped.

 Add the 1/4 cup of vegetable oil and lime juice and pulse to a fine paste.

Transfer the paste to a small skillet and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until fragrant and lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

Let the paste cool completely and season with salt and pepper.
***Note- This is a very yummy, but intense smell, better open some windows! 

In a large bowl, add the paste and the chicken thighs, and rub the paste all over it. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Light a grill. Line the grate with a double sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil brushed lightly with oil. Transfer the chicken to the foil, skin side up. Cover and grill over moderate heat (350° to 375°) for 30-45 minutes.  Serve with the limes.

 

If you DO like chicken thighs, here's some more ideas:

Chicken Marbella
Sticky Coconut Chicken
Cilantro Chicken
Easiest Teriyaki Chicken

Cuban Glazed Pork Tenderloin and Grilled Fruit Salsa

Sweet, tangy with just the right amount of spice to please the whole family with this dish.  I usually don't love fruit salsas and won't order anything that comes with a sweet salsa in a restaurant, but this one seemed like a great paring, so I gave it a try, I'm glad I did. 

Don't be put off by the Sauce for this dish, I know 4 whole jalapenos sounds extreme, but if anything, I would spice it up more next time I did this dish - - which I know means this is about perfect for most people!  I always seed the jalapenos, and they are almost never too hot that way.  I buy jalapenos by the pound at my local Asian market, and I usually get through them all before they go bad, yep, I love them that much.

I was inspired to do this dish from a recent issue of FOOD & WINE MAGAZINE (June 2011), but the recipe was for ribs, and I had pork tenderloins, which I prefer anyways, but I took some liberties with some of the ingredients too, especially since they wanted to add sugar to fruit salsa... um, I don't think that's necessary!  

Marinated Pork

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chile powder

2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 Tbsp garlic, powdered
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp honey

1 tsp Kosher salt & ground pepper

2 pork tenderloins (about 4 lbs total)

Sauce

4 jalapeños, seeded and thinly sliced

8 garlic cloves, smashed

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon ground cumin

Grilled Fruit Salsa

1 lb fresh pineapple rings, 1/2 " slices
1 fresh mango, cut into wedges
1/2 red onion, 1/2 " slices
1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced

1 large avocado, diced
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp cumin
Salt & Pepper as desired





In a large ziploc bag, add the chili powder, cumin, granulated garlic, salt, honey and olive oil.  Add the pork tenderloins and "massage" the mixture onto all the sides of the pork.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or even overnight, which is what I did.

Meanwhile, in a blender, puree the jalapeños with the garlic and 1/2 cup of the lime juice. Blend in the honey and the remaining 1 tablespoon of cumin. Transfer the glaze to a saucepan and simmer over low heat until glossy and thickened, 15 minutes.  Remove half the glaze to use for basting the cooking meat, and the other half of the glaze in a small pitcher to serve with the dinner. 

Preheat the grill.

When hot, grill the pineapple rings, mango wedges and red onion slices over high heat, turning once, until lightly charred, about 5 minutes. Chop all the grilled fruits and onion into a dice and transfer to a bowl. Add jalapeno, cilantro, avocado and 2 tablespoons of lime juice. Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside to cool while you cook the pork.

Turn down the grill to medium, and try to keep the temperature between 350-400 in the grill.  Place the pork and cover and cook, basting each side with the jalapeno glaze as you turn it, because the glaze can burn! It should take about 20 minutes or so.  

Internal temperature of pork should be about 145 degrees if you want to check it with an instant thermometer. The Pork Council just updated their recommended temperates, so many of you may remember it used to be 160.  Let it rest for about 5-8 minutes before serving.  The residual heat will continue to cook the pork and you won't over cook it and dry it out.

Slice the pork and serve with the salsa and the sauce.  Great with rice or quinoa.
This would also be great on tacos or burritos.... oh yum.

Note-
Even if you didn't make the glaze or the salsa, this marinade for the pork was pretty slam dunkin' marvelous... I'm going to try it out on a beef flank steak soom

Greek Chicken Souvlaki and Tzatziki Sauce

Ahhh, last Friday we ate our first dinner outside on Seattle's first 70 degree day... sigh, now back to the rain for a while, but you can get a taste of sunshine any time by making Greek Food.

I adore Greek Food, and Souvlaki appeals to everyone, even people who may not know that they like Greek food yet. It is so easy to make and easy to eat too.  Just grilled skewers of chicken, (beef, pork or lamb), flatbread (or pita) and some greek salad.  It's easy, it's heathy.  Tzatziki (say "Zatzeekie") is just a yummy yoghurt, cucumber and garlic spread or dip to use on top of your meal.

Here's the order I would make these dishes...
1) Marinate the chicken, best for a couple hours, or over night
2) Make Tzatziki
3) Make Salad, don't add salt, or oil until right before you serve it
4) Skewer and gril chicken, tastes under 10 minutes.

Serves about 4
Ingredients 

Chicken Souvlaki
4 chicken breasts, cut into cubes about 1"x1"
1 lemon, juiced
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
4-5 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1-2 tsp Greek Seasoning, like Cavenders (at grocery stores, or Cost Plus)
or
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano, dried
1/2 tsp. black pepper

8 Mediterranean flatbreads or pita breads 

Marinate all the above ingredients (except flatbreads/pita) in a ziploc bag for a couple of hours, or over night.

Soak bamboo skewers in water for about 30 minutes before you start to skewer the marinated chicken.  You know why?  To keep them from burning on the grill!!!  It really does help and looks better too!

Grill the chicken skewers for about 7-9 minutes on a grill that's about 400-450 degrees F. You'll be able to see that they are done, when they "bleed white".  That means as soon as you see the juices run more congealed and white looking.  Don't overcook, they should still be juicy, and not dry.

Ingredients 
Tzatziki
2 small persian cucumbers, finely grated
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup greek yoghurt (2% or whole milk is most authentic and best...)
Salt & pepper to taste

Drain off any liquid the cucumbers give off, or pat with a paper towel.  If you leave the juices in there, your tzatziki will be too runny and not as flavorful.

Greek Salad

Ingredients
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
2-3 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
3-4 small persian cucumbers, diced
1 cup small tomatoes, quartered
1/2 red onion, diced
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
Seasoning, to taste (feta & olives are salty, you may not need any!)



Here's some more awesome Greek Recipes:
Baked Prawns and Feta with Orzo
Avgolemono- Greek Wedding Soup