What the Forks for Dinner? - Page 176 of 202 - Recipes and ideas so you never have to ask what the forks for dinner!

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!

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!

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.