Posts in barbecue
fire roasted tomato salsa

saturday, wes and i catered our biggest event to date. and let me tell you, prepping and cooking for fifty people is no joke. i'm not sure my kitchen stove will ever be the same. 

we celebrated my uncle's seventieth birthday in fiesta style. complete with salsa bar, homemade mole sauce and of course a piñata. 

every party has been a wonderful learning experience. wes and i get more comfortable and confident as every custom menu is completed. and our self trained asses are learning a ton of tricks with every party in the books. 

one of the things that i learned over the weekend is that this salsa is a wonderful and versatile dish that is PERFECT for a party. because the only real instructions are chop, smash or grill, it is not super time consuming, but you can make a ton at one time. ideal for your next fiesta, or your upcoming labor day/end of summer parties. 

i also learned that wes and i are pretty darn good at this food thing and you should probably hire us for your next party. then i can just make this salsa for you. wink. wink. 

fire roasted tomato salsa
serves: 8 cups (this recipe yields a lot of salsa as it is meant for big parties. if you are making it at home, you could easily half or quarter the recipe with out issue)
prep time: 10 minutes
cook time: 30 minutes
total cook time: 40 minutes
ingredients: 2 lbs roma tomatoes, sliced thick. 2 yellow onions, sliced thick. 1 red onion, sliced thick. 5 garlic cloves, smashed. 1 large jalapeño. 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped. 1 tsp fresh oregano, roughly chopped. 1 tbs brown sugar. 1 tsp cumin. .25 c olive oil. 2 cups chicken stock. 1 tbs salt. .5 tsp pepper. your favorite chips for dipping.

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start by heating your grill to a medium high heat. 

in a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, both types of onions and the jalapeño. drizzle everything with the olive oil and season with almost all the salt and pepper, the cumin and the brown sugar. toss everything well to coat. 

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head out to your grill. working in batches so that you do not over crowd your grill, place the contents of your bowl onto the grill. place the onions and jalapeño on the hottest part of the grill with your tomatoes on the cooler areas. grill until everything has good grill marks and the onions are cooked. about 4 minutes a side for the tomatoes and about 8 minutes a side for onions and pepper.

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when your fruits and veggies (tomatoes are fruits not vegetables) have been grilled, return them to the bowl and take them back to the kitchen. remove the stem and chop up your jalapeño and return it to the bowl. toss your grilled produce with the garlic, oregano and cilantro and add them to a large, heavy pot. 

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place the pot on the stove and bring the burner to a medium high heat. start to sauté your ingredients until the contents of the pot begins to sizzle. stir in the remaining salt and pepper and chicken stock. 

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bring the liquid to a boil, allow to simmer 5 minutes and remove the pot from the heat. allow the salsa to cool slightly.

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when the salsa has cooled a bit, blend everything together with a hand emersion blender or in your blender.

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serve at room temperature with your favorite chips or over a delicious enchilada or taco.

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xo
a

fire roasted tomato salsa
serves: 8 cups (this recipe yields a lot of salsa as it is meant for big parties. if you are making it at home, you could easily half or quarter the recipe with out issue)
prep time: 10 minutes
cook time: 30 minutes
total cook time: 40 minutes
ingredients: 2 lbs roma tomatoes, sliced thick. 2 yellow onions, sliced thick. 1 red onion, sliced thick. 5 garlic cloves, smashed. 1 large jalapeño. 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped. 1 tsp fresh oregano, roughly chopped. 1 tbs brown sugar. 1 tsp cumin. .25 c olive oil. 2 cups chicken stock. 1 tbs salt. .5 tsp pepper. your favorite chips for dipping.
start by heating your grill to a medium high heat.
in a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, both types of onions and the jalapeño. drizzle everything with the olive oil and season with almost all the salt and pepper, the cumin and the brown sugar. toss everything well to coat.
head out to your grill. working in batches so that you do not over crowd your grill, place the contents of your bowl onto the grill. place the onions and jalapeño on the hottest part of the grill with your tomatoes on the cooler areas. grill until everything has good grill marks and the onions are cooked. about 4 minutes a side for the tomatoes and about 8 minutes a side for onions and pepper.
when your fruits and veggies (tomatoes are fruits not vegetables) have been grilled, return them to the bowl and take them back to the kitchen. remove the stem and chop up your jalapeño and return it to the bowl. toss your grilled produce with the garlic, oregano and cilantro and add them to a large, heavy pot.
place the pot on the stove and bring the burner to a medium high heat. start to sauté your ingredients until the contents of the pot begins to sizzle. stir in the remaining salt and pepper and chicken stock.
bring the liquid to a boil, allow to simmer 5 minutes and remove the pot from the heat. allow the salsa to cool slightly.
when the salsa has cooled a bit, blend everything together with a hand emersion blender or in your blender.
serve at room temperature with your favorite chips or over a delicious enchilada or taco. 

grilled corn salad

if i haven't already convinced you, summer is all about the grill. firing up the bbq gets you outside, saves you on dishes and really pumps up the flavor of your food.
and good summer corn is one of my favorite things to grill. after soaking, corn's husk makes the perfect barrier to cook but not burn the corn.
corn's only downside? you don't want to be picking it out of your teeth for the next twenty four. taking the extra step to remove the corn from the cob will save you, and your guests from the unpleasant task of gnawing the kernels off the cob and it gives you the chance to mix in some other great summer ingredients. 

grilled corn salad
serves: 4
prep time: 1 hour
cook time: 30 minutes
total time: 1.5 hours
ingredients: 4 ears sweet corn, husks on. 3 large spring onions. 1 small bunch radish. .5 c cilantro, roughly chopped. 2 tbs olive oil. 1 tbs lemon juice. 1 tbs brown sugar. 1 tsp salt. .5 tsp pepper. 

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in the sink or large pot of water, soak the corn for 1 hour.
when you are ready to grill, turn on the bbq to a medium high heat. if you have a charcoal grill, make sure to grill the veggies slightly off of the direct heat.
place the corn on the grill and cook, turning every 10 minutes until the husks are pretty well grilled and the corn is cooked through. 30-40 minutes. 

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while the corn is grilling, combine radish, onions, olive oil, lemon juice, brown sugar, salt and pepper. toss them together well. when the corn is a almost done, grill the onions and radish just until they both have good grill marks. about 4 minutes a side. reserve the vinaigrette the veggies were soaking in. 

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when the corn and the veggies are done, allow them to cool enough for you to handle. 

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halve the cobs of corn and carefully, slice the kernels off the cob. 

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roughly chop the spring onions and radish. in a medium bowl combine the corn, onions, radish and cilantro. drizzle with the remaining marinade, toss and serve cool or at room temp. 

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xoxo
a

grilled corn salad
serves: 4
prep time: 1 hour
cook time: 30 minutes
total time: 1.5 hours
ingredients: 4 ears sweet corn, husks on. 3 large spring onions. 1 small bunch radish. .5 c cilantro, roughly chopped. 2 tbs olive oil. 1 tbs lemon juice. 1 tbs brown sugar. 1 tsp salt. .5 tsp pepper.
in the sink or large pot of water, soak the corn for 1 hour.
when you are ready to grill, turn on the bbq to a medium high heat. if you have a charcoal grill, make sure to grill the veggies slightly off of the direct heat.
place the corn on the grill and cook, turning every 10 minutes until the husks are pretty well grilled and the corn is cooked through. 30-40 minutes.
while the corn is grilling, combine radish, onions, olive oil, lemon juice, brown sugar, salt and pepper. toss them together well. when the corn is a almost done, grill the onions and radish just until they both have good grill marks. about 4 minutes a side. reserve the vinaigrette the veggies were soaking in.
when the corn and the veggies are done, allow them to cool enough for you to handle.
halve the cobs of corn and carefully, slice the kernels off the cob.
roughly chop the spring onions and radish. in a medium bowl combine the corn, onions, radish and cilantro. drizzle with the remaining marinade, toss and serve cool or at room temp.