Juicy steak slices, grilled vegetables, crumbled blue cheese, and a balsamic dressing make this steak recipe perfect for summer. Possibly a great meal for celebrating Dad!
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Homecoming – Grilled Steaks with Charred Corn and Chile Pepper Salad
Juicy grilled steaks with succulent charred corn and chile pepper salad. Add a baked potato for the ultimate grilling experience.
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Korean Chicken Kebabs
I’m fairly obsessed with gochujang. I’m the Feed Feed Editor for it and I find ways to work into meals regularly. It is a chile paste, so it has some spice behind it, but when paired with honey, mirin and other sweet ingredients gochujang becomes less about the spice level and more about the depth of flavours. Since I’m a total wimp when it comes to spicy foods it is somewhat ironic that I love gochujang so much. Here, I created Korean Chicken Kebabs with Quick Pickled Vegetables to serve with rice. It’s crazy yummy and comes together quickly.
I had to look up kabob vs kebab to title this recipe. Seriously, the things I Google are probably the most boring topics on the planet to most people. Anyways, I found out (if Google is telling me the truth) that a kabob is also more directed towards meat AND vegetables interspersed on a skewer, while kebab is solely meat on the skewer. And, can we chat about the fact that kids love the idea of kebabs. Food on a stick? You’ll have a line of kids ready to eat dinner with this one. If you’re keen to add vegetables to the skewer, bell peppers, zucchini, and carrots will work well.
What is gochujang? That’s an excellent question. 😉 It’s a chile paste made from chilies (obviously), fermented soy beans, salt, and sticky rice. It’s very thick and a deep crimson colour. For decades gochujang has been a staple in Korean homes. Traditionally used for marinades, added to stews, and added to sauces to accompany dishes like bibimbap. It’s not like the type of hot sauce you’re probably familiar with (sriracha or Tabasco), gochujang is usually added to dishes to create more interest and depth or it should be cut with other ingredients like soy, mirin, honey, etc. when acting as a finishing sauce.
I find gochujang fits perfectly with rice vinegar (they both are made from rice making that a great pairing) and honey. The sweetness of honey balances out the salty/spice levels of gochujang and creates the most wonderful sticky sauce. I have a recipe for some seriously sticky finger goodness chicken wings, here. Although spicy, it’s not crazy burn your mouth spicy. I don’t feed my kids sriracha, but they do eat gochujang.
Quick pickled vegetables are one of the best things to serve with gochujang dishes. The high acidity level cuts through the spicy heat and immediately cools things off. Here, the quick pickled salad has celery, cucumber and green apple in it. All have sharp and fresh flavours and a study texture that can handle being placed in liquid for the “pickling” process. I used the celery tops and leaves in this recipe. At the last cookbook club session (read all about that here), I had the opportunity to try a salad made from the entire celery and I really liked it, not only for saving food waste, but for its flavour. I’ll definitely be adding more celery leaves to my salads in the future. Do you use celery leaves in any way?
Samantha
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Yields 4
Korean Chicken Kebabs
Grilled gochujang chicken kebabs are ready in minutes and perfect for an easy dinner with rice and pickled vegetables.
1 hrPrep Time
10 minCook Time
1 hr, 10 Total Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 2 chicken breasts, about 1 lbs / 454 gr, cut into 1" chunks
- 2 tbsp gochujang (Korean chile paste)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/4 mirin (sweet rice wine)
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- Quick pickle vegetables:
- 2 mini cucumbers (or 1/2 long cucumber) thinly sliced
- 1 green apple (Granny Smith), thinly sliced into matchsticks or rounds
- 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced including leaves and tops
- 1 red (Thai) chile, seeds removed and thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
Instructions
- In bowl (or freezer bag), mix together gochujang, garlic, soy, miring, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Add chicken pieces and toss until coated with gochujang mixture. Chill and allow to marinate for 1-24 hours.
- Preheat grill to high heat.
- Remove chicken from fridge and place chicken pieces on metal or (soaked in cold water) wooden skewers.
- Place skewers (horizontally) on grill and reduce heat to medium.
- Rotate a 1/4 turn every 4 minutes or once the grill side is browned while keeping the lid closed if bbq-ing.
- Meanwhile, whisk together rice vinegar and sugar in a medium bowl. Toss with cucumber, apple, celery and chile.
- Serve kebabs with cooked rice and quick pickled vegetables.
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https://www.mykitchenlove.com/korean-chicken-kebabs/Both recipes inspired by recipes found in Donna Hay’s The New Easy.
Enjoy!
Surf-n-Turf BBQ Board & Outdoor Entertaining
This is what Summer is all about. Fresh produce, grill marks, and dinner where all the dishes can go into the dishwasher. So many things to get excited about. This board is perfect for outdoor entertaining. You are solely working the BBQ so there’s no need to stress about multiple dishes on the stove and I’ve got this whole set-up perfectly timed for you.
Some pro-tips on bbq entertaining, I’d probably start with don’t be at the grill the whole time; people came to see you and prep is the name of the game here. Make sure everything is organized and laid out so you can bbq with ease. Secondly, have everything “outdoor ready”, and by this I mean have a cooler stocked with whatever you’re serving, have the table somewhat set (masons jars with utensils work well), a pile of napkins so you and your guests aren’t running inside every two minutes and so forth. Finally, make it laid back. It’s Summer, it’s a bbq and I’m pretty sure everyone wants to pull up a lounge chair and relax with a cold one in their hand.
This meal would be perfect for those long lazy summer nights. I’m thinking that our Summer Solstice needs this kind of recipe. The kind where life slows down a bit, the ingredients are primarily left “naked” to shine. Good meat and produce need very little to make them taste so delicious and when it’s grilled I think that theory should be further emphasized.
I kept the lid of the grill closed throughout most of the cooking process. I recently read that leaving the grill open for high heat cooking such as steaks results in a crisper exterior on the meat. I’ve yet to thoroughly test this option, however I’m putting it out there in case you feel that steak should be extra crispy without being overcooked.
This was my first time grilling corn successfully. Previously, I would leave the husks on and soak them in cold water before grilling, or give them a quick par-boil. It’s entirely unnecessary to complete those steps. The corn takes a fairly decent amount of time to cook on the bbq, but I love the flavours it picks up from it. Sprinkle with some lime zest and salt and you don’t be disappointed. My kids also get a kick out of eating corn on the cob. It’s a playful way for them to get some extra veg in.
Samantha
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Yields 8
Surf-n-Turf BBQ Board & Outdoor Entertaining
A surf-n-turf bbq board with lots of vegetables and all cooked on the grill!
5 minPrep Time
45 minCook Time
50 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 1 lbs small baby potatoes, halved if larger than 1" diameter
- 4 corn on the cob, leave husks on
- 1 lbs ribeye steaks, about 2, 3/4" thick
- 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes
- 1 lbs asparagus, ends trimmed
- 20-30 raw prawns, shells remove, tails on
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tsp crushed chili pepper flakes
- 3-6 thyme sprigs
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided
Instructions
- Preheat BBQ to 400° F.
- Soak approximately 10 skewers in cold water if using wooden ones (no need to soak if using metal)
- Wrap potatoes, 1 tbsp butter, 1/2 tsp kosher salt and thyme sprigs in tin foil (double wrap to ensure no butter is lost).
- Place potato foil package and corn (husks on) onto the grill and cook for 30-35 minutes, flipping the potatoes halfway and rotating the corn a 1/4 turn every 8 minutes. The corn should be blackened in spots on the husk.
- Meanwhile, place 5-7 prawns (don't cram them on there, see photos above for placement) and cherry tomatoes on skewers.
- In a small bowl melt butter in the microwave in short bursts of time (20 seconds). Add 1 tsp salt, garlic, and red pepper flakes, stir to combine.
- After potatoes and corn have cooked for 30-35 minutes, turn off one side of the bbq and move corn on the cob and potatoes over to the side that has been turned off.
- Turn the other elements of the bbq to high heat. Once scorching hot add steak and asparagus. Brush steak, prawns and asparagus with melted butter mixture. After 5 minutes reduce heat to medium, flip steak and asparagus and add prawns. Brush all with melted butter mixture. Rotate prawns after 3-4 minutes (once the underside has turned pink).
- All ingredients should be ready after 3-4 more minutes.
- Serve with lemon and lime slices as well as cilantro and/or parsley for garnish.
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https://www.mykitchenlove.com/surf-n-turf-bbq-board/Enjoy!
Grilled Papaya Boats with Salsa, Beans, and Feta
One of our favourite summer BBQ side dishes is this one. It’s fast, fresh, and full of tropical flavour that you’re almost on the beach in Hawaii. Almost.
Serves 2-4
Ingredients:
1 medium ripe papaya, peeled (using a vegetable peeler), seeds removed, and halved lengthwise
drizzle of olive oil
1 cup salsa (store bought is fine)
1 x 14 oz can of back beans, drained and well rinsed
100 gr feta, crumbled
Directions:
Heat grill to medium-high heat. Brush papaya with olive oil and place the papaya with the inside edge downwards. Grill for 3-5 minutes until nice grill marks appear. Flip and cook for another 3-5 minutes until fully soft.
Mix salsa and beans in a medium bowl.
Place salsa mixture inside papaya halves and top with crumbled feta.
Enjoy!
Grilled Peach, Onion, and Bacon Salad
The weather’s been fantastic and that gives me a perfect reason to have my husband bbq. I have zero game on the grill, it’s one cooking piece that I’m lacking and am hoping to work on when we move later this summer. Don’t get me wrong, I still have to prep all the food and layout explicit instructions, but at least it’s not another pot to wash.
This salad was perfect for a warm summer’s dinner. It has the juicy grilled fresh peaches and slightly charred rings of onion. I’m hoping to make it again during our family vacation into the BC Interior. This dish definitely says eat me on the patio or beside the lake. We ate it at our coffee table and still thoroughly enjoyed it 😉
Make sure the peaches are ripe otherwise they’re a pain to segment. I left mine in a paper bag for a few days to speed up the ripening process as the peaches aren’t fully ripe yet.
My favourite of this dish was probably the bacon though. It has cayenne pepper and brown sugar sprinkled on it before baking and it results in this wonderful spicy and caramelized crispy bacon. So good.
The recipe makes a lot so either plan to serve generously or for large group.
Salad recipe from Food and Wine Magazine, and dressing recipe from Bon Appetit Magazine
Serves 8 as a side
Ingredients:
Salad:
1 lbs thick-sliced bacon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
3 lbs Vidalia or other sweet onions, cut into 1″ thick slabs
Olive oil, for brushing
4 large ripe peaches, cut into 1/2″ wedges
Dressing:
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup finely chopped mixed fresh tender herbs (such as tarragon, chive, parsley, and/or dill)
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, finely grated
Salt and pepper
Directions:
Dressing:
Whisk all ingredients together and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Salad:
Preheat oven to 325° F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the bacon in a single layer and sprinkle with brown sugar and cayenne pepper. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until bacon is caramelized and just starring to crisp (it will continue to crisp as it cools). Let cool and cut into bite size pieces.
Preheat your BBQ or a large cast-iron skillet if you don’t have a BBQ.
Brush the onions lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, until soft and starting to brown. Turn the heat to high and add the peach slices. Grill for about 2 minutes. Transfer onions and peaches to a plate. Separate onions into rings.
Plate bacon, peaches, and onion onto plates and drizzle with buttermilk dressing.
Enjoy!