Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients
1lb Ground Turkey(Check the serial number)
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbsp finely chopped basil
1/4 cup diced onions
3 minced garlic cloves
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1/4 cup grated pecorino romano
1/4 milk
1 egg 
1 tsp each dried oregano, onion powder, and garlic powder

• Store bought Marinara Sauce(I use Bertolli Marinara with Burgundy Wine)

Preheat oven to 400°. Add all of the ingredients(except marinara sauce) to a large bowl and blend. Shape turkey mixture into mini meatballs(about 1-1 1/2 inch in diameter). Place on baking sheet. 

Bake for 30-40 minutes. Heat marinara sauce in a large pot, then add meatballs. Serve with pasta. 

Sunday Brunch

For those of you who have never been to my house, I live in middle of nowhere, Middletown. Land of newly built McMansions, townhouses, corn fields, and fast food and restaurant chains. Unlike in NYC and other major cities, there really aren't any appealing breakfast/ brunch options in Delaware ( Kidshelleen's is the exception). We do have a Waffle House in Middletown but I quickly discovered that their food is only appetizing to me after I've had about 3-4 cocktails. Needless to say, I have a number of  recipes for Saturday and Sunday brunch. Whenever we have house guests on the weekends, I generally use one of these two recipes:

Fried Catfish

Ingredients
4-6 Catfish Fillets
1 cup Milk
1 cup Flour
1 Tbsp. Badia Sazon Complete
2 tsp. Onion Powder
2 tsp. Garlic Powder
A few splashes of Frank's Red Hot
Kosher Salt and Pepper to Taste

Preheat vegetable/Canola oil to 350. Rinse fish with cold water, place in a bowl, let soak in milk for at least 15-30 minutes. Pour out excess milk, do not rinse the fish again. Add lemon juice, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, kosher salt, Badia Sazon, and Franks Red Hot. In separate bowl combine flour with black pepper and kosher salt to taste. Bread fish and place in pan or deep fryer. Fry for 8-10 minutes or until the fish is golden brown. Once removed, drain off excess oil  on paper towels. Serve with grits and/or home fries.

Shrimp and Cheese Grits

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled, halved lengthwise, and deveined
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
1 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
4-6 slices bacon, chopped*
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup sliced scallions
2 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup low sodium chicken stock
 1 Tbsp Goya Tomato Based Sofrito

*For pescetarians, saute pepper, garlic and onions in butter or olive oil as a substitute for bacon drippings.

Combine the shrimp with the lemon juice and black pepper, set aside. Fry the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until brown. Stir in the onion, green pepper, and garlic and continue cooking for about 5 minutes.

Add the scallions, then sprinkle flour over the mixture, and continue sauteing for 5 minutes longer. Stir in the chicken stock and Sofrito. Then add shrimp, cook until the shrimp are opaque throughout, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and serve immediately with grits.

Cheese Grits

Ingredients
1 cup grits, not instant or quick-cooking
1 to 2 tsp unsalted butter
Salt to taste
2-4 Splashes of Frank's Red Hot or Tabasco Sauce
1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese.

Bring 3 1/2 cups of water and salt to a boil. Whisk in the grits slowly and cover. Reduce the heat to a very low simmer and cook over low heat for 45-55 minutes, stirring occasionally at first and more frequently toward the end. Once the grits are thick and creamy, stir in the butter, followed by the cheese. Add a splash of hot pepper sauce.

Real Women Grill

In the July 2011 issue of Bon Appetite, I came across an article that I found to be rather strange. Long Story short, the female author was extremely terrified of her unassuming grill in her backyard and she felt that grilling was a man’s domain. It’s not clear on when or how women were banned from cooking food outside over an open fire. I was constantly surrounded by strong independent women growing up and I’ve only seen two women utilize a grill in my lifetime. I guess that means there is some truth to the stereotype.

I learned to grill last summer and I love it so much, that in brief moments of insanity, I actually considered going outside in the middle of January to fire up the grill. However, I will be honest, my first attempt at grilling chicken came out looking something like this:

As with all cooking techniques, I mastered my grilling techniques with the assistance of cookbooks, the Internet, and indirect heat. Here are my 2 favorite recipes for the grill:

Dry Rub(Can be Used on Chicken or Baby Back Ribs)
1 tsp. Onion Powder
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 Tbsp. Black Pepper
1 Tbsp. Kosher Salt
1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
½ tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. Ancho Chile Pepper (McCormick Gourmet Collection)
1 tsp. Smoked Paprika or Paprika
2-4 Tbsp. packed brown sugar

Ingredients:

Chicken quarters and split chicken breasts
Juice of half a lime
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Entirely coat chicken with dry rub, then place chicken, olive oil, and lime juice in a resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate for at least 4-6 hours to marinate. Turn on half of the gas grill burners to medium-high heat and brush grates with vegetable oil. Place chicken on the grill, skin side down for 5-8 minutes. Turn the chicken skin side up and cook for an additional 5-8 minutes. Then remove the chicken from the direct heat and place on the other side of the grill and close the cover. Cook for additional 20-40 minutes using indirect heat (cooking time depends on the size of the chicken pieces). When the chicken is almost done brush on your favorite BBQ sauce. If you don’t own a cooking a thermometer, I suggest that you invest in one, as it will prevent you from poisoning dinner guests and yourself. The chicken is done once your thermometer reads at 165 ° and it should look something like this:

Sweet and Spicy Grilled Salmon

1 skin on, Salmon filet, 1-1/2-2 pounds
Olive Oil
Badia Blackened Red Fish Seasoning
Juice of ½ a lemon
4-8 Tbsp of packed brown sugar

Coat salmon with brown sugar and Red Fish seasoning, then squeeze over lemon juice and drizzle with olive oil. Place salmon on heavy duty aluminum foil or cedar plank.

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Place fish directly over heat. Grill until the thickest part of the salmon reaches an internal temperature of 131° on the thermometer. Remove the salmon from the oven and allow to rest, uncovered, for 8 to 10 minutes.