Grilled Fennel Salad

Grilled Fennel Salad

Grilled Fennel Salad

Fennel is crunchy and slightly sweet with a slight anise flavor…….like a light licorice. The stalks are topped with feathery green leaves,  where flowers grow, and produce fennel seeds. The bulb is white or pale green. The bulb, stalk, leaves and seeds are all edible, but most recipes call for the bulb and the fronds…….the feathery green at the top. Fennel is also loaded with antioxidants, vitamin C, and fiber, so it’s super healthy. Fennel lesson over!

Fennel is one of those things that most people either love or hate……..I believe that haters have never tried it…….just my opinion. But, if you are a hater, try our Grilled Fennel Salad. Grilling the fennel adds to the slightly sweet flavor and the fresh herbs and lemon give it a fresh taste. It can be served either warm or at room temperature.

I served this salad with a Tuscan Pork Tenderloin. Three parts sage, to one part rosemary, then garlic, salt, pepper, and fennel seed to taste. Rub the pork with oil and pat on the herbs, roast in a 400* oven for 30-45 minutes. Serve with the Grilled Fennel Salad.

Tim had never had fennel, that he could remember, and he really liked it. I personally love it. You can also add it to gratins, or scalloped potatoes. It lends a background taste that will make people wonder what it is…….

So, for your next cookout try our Grilled Fennel Salad!

Grilled Fennel Salad Collage

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Grilled Fennel Salad

Grilled Fennel Salad

  • Author: Marty Boyd
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 2 1x
  • Category: Salad
  • Method: Grill
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 fennel bulbs, sliced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon each fresh basil, parsley, thyme and fennel fronds
  • juice and zest of 1 lemon
  • Parmesan shavings

Instructions

  1. Cut the tops from the fennel reserving the fronds. Removing and hard or inedible outer parts.
  2. Trim a tiny bit off the bottom, keeping the core intact.
  3. Slice the fennel into thick slices.
  4. Drizzle each side with olive oil, season with salt and pepper.
  5. Place slices on a medium hot grill turning until you get a nice grill marks and fennel is tender to the touch.
  6. Whisk together the lemon, olive oil, herbs and zest adding salt and pepper to taste, then drizzle all over.
  7. Garnish with the shavings of Parmesan cheese.

Keywords: fennel, herbs, grill, salad, parmesan cheese

 

Peppercorn Steak Stuffed Potato

Peppercorn Steak Stuffed Potato

Peppercorn Steak Stuffed Potato

What to do with my beautiful green beans?????

Peppercorn Steak Stuffed Potato…………..

In our community,there is place called Arthur’s Garden Deli. They have awesome sandwiches, salad, and stuffed baked potatoes. Tim and I had sandwiches the other day, and the stuffed potato menu caught my eye. When we got home, I kept thinking about a stuffed potato and my green beans. My first thought was a steak, baked potato and green beans…………then light bulb moment!!!!! Why not stuff a potato with all of those ingredients?? No reason not too!

I purchased what I thought was a flank steak at my local grocery store, but when I opened the package, I discovered that it was very thinly sliced pieces. Good and bad, I had wanted to marinade a whole piece of flank steak, grill it, slice it thin, and put it in the potato….that’s the bad part…….the good part was that it saved me work being pre sliced, and the marinade really got into those thin strips.

Now, about the marinade, it has a lot of pepper!!! My spice loving hubby of course loves pepper…….he takes the cap off at restaurants and pours the pepper instead of shaking it…….he’s so cute……….. The dijon, balsamic, and red onions round out the marinade flavors. I marinaded over night but if you have the thin strips and are crunched for time even a few hours will do.

Green beans beg for bacon…….enough said.

Ok, so I had the potato, I had the steak, and I had the green beans. Baked potatoes need sour cream, and steak needs a sauce……hmmmm.

So, I kept the marinade with all that pepper and red onion, cooked it down, added beef broth and finished with sour cream……..Black Peppercorn Gravy.

To serve, I placed the beans on the plate, put the potato on top, stuffed it with the meat, and covered with the gravy…….ta da!!!!  The Peppercorn Stuffed Potato is born…….enjoy!

Peppercorn Steak Stuffed Potato Collage

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Peppercorn Steak Stuffed Potato

Peppercorn Steak Stuffed Potato

  • Author: Marty Boyd
  • Yield: 2 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • Marinade:
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon peppercorn
  • 2 tablespoons black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 red onion thinly sliced
  • Ingredients
  • 3/4 pound thinly flank steak
  • 2 large baking potatoes, scrubbed
  • 1/2 pound fresh green beans, trimmed
  • 3 slices applewood smoked bacon
  • 1/4 cup beef broth
  • 2 tablespoons sour cream

Instructions

  1. Whisk the first 7 marinade ingredients in a large bowl until emulsified. Stir in red onions and beef. Marinade for 6-8 hours or overnight.
  2. Place scrubbed potatoes in a 400* oven. Lay them directly on the oven rack or place them on a baking sheet. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until their skin is crispy and sticking one with a fork meets no resistance.
  3. While the potatoes are baking, dice the bacon and place in a saucepan over medium high heat. Cook bacon until just crisp. Add trimmed green beans, and about 1/4 cup water stirring to mix with bacon. Cover and cook until beans are the desired doneness. (I prefer mine still tender crisp)
  4. Remove meat from marinade and set marinade aside. Cook beef over high heat for about a minute per side. Remove from pan and set aside.
  5. Place the reserved marinade in a small pan and bring to a boil. Add beef broth and return to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in sour cream.
  6. Place beans on serving platter. Cut a slice in the center of each potato and pinch the potato open. Place meat inside the potato. Pour sauce over potatoes and serve.

 

 

Roasted Peanut Kale Salad

Roasted Peanut Kale Salad

Roasted Peanut Kale Salad

Kale is all the rage right now, and rightly so. It has crazy amounts of vitamins A, K, and C, and it’s packed with calcium. I must admit that I prefer spinach, and in a nutritional match up they are pretty equal. Although, spinach is a better source of iron, magnesium, and fiber. Be sure to buy either of these organic if possible. Leafy greens can be a sponge for any chemicals used in the growing process. Nutrition lesson over……..but look for our new page……coming soon, that will be all you wanted to know about nutrition, but were afraid to ask.

This recipe is hopefully….fingers crossed, just what my friend Michelle was looking for. She had a salad at a restaurant in Chicago and tried to replicate it but, wasn’t happy with the result. Now, Michelle is one of the best cooks I know, so if she couldn’t  come up with it I wasn’t sure I could either. But, I was willing to give it a try.

Michelle described what was in the salad and the ingredients were fairly simple. Kale, cabbage, mint, cilantro, parsley, and a peanut dressing. As I said before, I am not a huge fan of kale, but I tried a baby kale which I found to be a better taste. I will try this again with spinach. The dressing is where Michelle was stuck, so I hope my version…….peanut oil, rice wine vinegar, etc…….see recipe…..is the taste she was looking for.

Roasted Peanut Kale Salad 1

I added grilled chicken that I marinaded in the dressing for flavor, and and topped it with roasted peanuts. Both Tim and I really enjoyed it.

So, I hope my version of Roasted Peanut Kale Salad will be a close match for the restaurant salad……….let me know Michelle!

Roasted Peanut Kale Salad Collage

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Roasted Peanut Kale Salad

Roasted Peanut Kale Salad

  • Author: Marty Boyd
  • Prep Time: 35 minutes
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 2 1x
  • Category: Salad
  • Method: Saute
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale
  • Salad
  • 6 cups baby kale
  • 2 cups prepackaged cole slaw mix
  • 1/4 cup each fresh mint, cilantro, parsley chopped
  • 2 green onions sliced on the diagonal
  • 1/4 cup peanuts, toasted and chopped
  • 3/4 to 1 pound chicken tenders ( about 6 tenders)
  • Dressing
  • 3/4 cup Peanut oil
  • 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
  • Juice of 2 lemons
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 
1 teaspoon garlic pepper
  • 
1 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1 teaspoon worchestershire sauce
  • 
2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 clove garlic minced

Instructions

  1. Whisk all the dressing ingredients together and set aside.
  2. Add 1/4 cup of the dressing to chicken tenders and marinade for 30 minutes (or more).
  3. Combine all ingredients for the salad, except the peanuts and set aside.
  4. Remove chicken from marinade, discarding any remaining marinade. Grill chicken tenders over medium high heat until cooked through. Remove from grill and cut into bite size chunks and let cool slightly.
  5. Add chicken and dressing to the kale cabbage mixture. Toss to coat adding dressing as desired.
  6. Plate and serve.
  7. Top with chopped peanuts and serve.

Notes

This recipe serves 2-4.

Keywords: kale, chicken, cole slaw mix, peanuts, salad