#19 Greek Grilled Steak and Salad

Going to Greece last summer left its impression. The sights from the Islands were breath-taking, the history was incredible and the food was divine. Spending a summer month in Greece was the best trip I have ever taken and perhaps due to the similar Grecian-summer-temperatures we've been experiencing here in Guadalajara, I was craving a taste of that unforgettable adventure.

I admit that nothing will compare to wandering the streets of Santorini with an authentic Greek gyro in my hand but I will say my Greek Salad was a fair attempt and will definitely be made again.

Greek Grilled Steak and Salad

1 pound of Steak (sliced) (also can use 1 pound of chicken tenders)

Salt and Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

4 pita breads

The Zest and juice of 1 lemon

3 tablespoons rice-wine vinegar (eyeball it)

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (eyeball it)

2 tablespoons fresh oregano (4 stems) stripped of leaves and chopped

3 cloves garlic

2 hearts romaine lettuce, chopped

2 tomatoes, diced

1 avocado, chopped

1/2 cup cheese (feta or other)

1/2 cucumber, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley ( a couple handfuls), chopped

**Also good to add Kalamata Olives

Preheat grill over high heat. Place meat in shallow dish and season with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to moderate heat. Wrap pita breads in foil and place in warm oven until dinner is served.

Combine lemon zest and juice with vinegar in a bowl and whisk in oil. Add oregano, garlic and whisk again to combine well. Pour half the dressing over the meat and turn them to coat.

Combine veggies in a mixing bowl and toss well with the remaining dressing just until very lightly coated. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a large serving platter.

Grill meat, 4 to 5 minutes on each side, transferring them as they're done to the salad-lined serving platter. Remove pitas from oven and unwrap. Cut pitas in half and arrange around the edge of the platter.

To serve, each person can pile grilled meat and veggies onto a pita, wrap up, and buen provecho!

#18 Grilled Portobello Mushrooms with Potato Rounds

I don't really know what prompted me to buy a package of 4 portobello mushrooms this week, perhaps it was in the hope that I have always wanted to like them a little bit more. Whatever the reason, I had to quickly find a recipe before they went to waste and ended up with a simple marinade and grilling recipe. So though it wasn't one of my favorite recipes, it did provide something different this week and a nice vegetarian meal. So take it or leave it, here it is.

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 4 portobello mushroom caps
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 (1 ounce) slices provolone cheese

Directions

1. Place the mushroom caps, smooth side up, in a shallow dish. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, oil, basil, oregano, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pour over the mushrooms. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes or so, turning twice.
2. Preheat grill for medium-high heat.
3. Brush grate with oil. Place mushrooms on the grill, reserving marinade for basting. Grill for 5 to 8 minutes on each side, or until tender. Brush with marinade frequently. Top with cheese during the last 2 minutes of grilling.

Potato Rounds

Ingredients:

1 potato, sliced

Few Dashes of Steak Seasoning

Salt and Pepper

Dash of Paprika

1/2 cup of flour

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Directions:

Pown olive oil into frying pan over medium heat. Mix the dry ingredients together and dip potato slices in the dry mixture before frying them in the pan. Fry to your own liking.

Buen Provecho!

#17 Southern Delight: Tomatillo Bass, Avocado Salad and Margarita Granita

Wow, this recipe was one well-rounded delight. Not only was the fish and tomatillo sauce mouth-watering, the avocado salad had a nice bite to it which was refreshingly followed with the post-dinner margaritas. This will definitely be a recipe to pull out next time I have dinner guests so more people than just the novio and I get to savor all the tastes this recipe provides. And as far as the novio and I, we both gave this recipe a 5 star rating. Be ready to be gratified, this one is a keeper. (And thanks go to Rachel Ray as the recipe was adapted from her original one.)

Tomatillo Bass

Ingredients:

4 fillets Bass

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon ground cumin (eyeball it)

1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika (eyeball it)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

The juice of 1 lime

1/2 medium red onion, chopped

1 jalapeno or serrano pepper, seeded, and finely chopped

2 or 3 large cloves of garlic, minced

8 to 10 tomatillos, peeled and diced with juice

1/2 can of beer

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (a palmful)

Avocado Salad with Corn and Peppers

1 tablespoon extra-virgin oilive oil (once around the pan)

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 can corn kernals

1 sprinkly of sugar

Dash Cayenne pepper

Dash salt

2 tablespoons butter

2 ripe avocadoes

The juice of 1 lime

Coarse salt

Directions:

Season Fish on both sides salt, pepper, cumin and paprika. Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the hot skillet and saute fish 3 minutes on each side, turning carefully with a thin spatula. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 lime over the fish, and transfer fillets to a warm serving platter.

Return skillet to the stove over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, red onion, jalapeno, and garlic, and saute, 1 minute or 2, then add tomatillos. Season with salt and pepper, and saute, another 1 or 2 minutes. Add beer and the juice of 1/2 lime, and bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, 5 minutes.

While sauce is simmering, get a second skillet hot over moderate heat. Add olive oil, onion, jalapeno, bell pepper, and saute, 2 or 3 minutes. Pour the corn into the skillet. Combine with peppers and onions. Season with sugar, cayenne, and salt. When mixture bubbles, reduce heat to a simmer. Cut butter into pieces, stir into corn mixture, and simmer until creamy, 5 to 7 minutes.

Cut avocados in half lengthwise and remove pits. Squeeze lime juice over the avocados to keep them from browning and season with a little coarse salt.

Back to the sauce for fish: Add cilantro, and adjust salt and pepper, to taste. Spoon hot tomatillo sauce over the fish.

To serve, set 1/2 an avocado per person alongside a serving of fish, topped with tomatillo sauce. Fill the avocado with corn and peppers, allowing the corn to spill down and over the sides. The ripe avocado is spooned away from its skin with bites of creamy, warm corn and peppers.

Margarita Granita

Ingredients:

The juice of 2 limes

1 tray ice cubes

1 pint lime sherbet

4 shots good quality tequila

1 cup of frozen strawberries

Combine all ingredients ina blender and blend on high, 1 or 2 minutes or until smooth and frothy. Spoon into glasses and serve.

#16 White Fish with Mango Salsa

Cinco de Mayo served me well this year, even if we didn't get our usual 3-5 day weekend, we all enjoyed a Thursday off this week. There's something about having a day off that makes cooking so much easier. After spending a day going on a run, going out for coffee with the girls, seeing "Fast and the Furious 5" with the boys, it only seemed right to invite some friends over for dinner and keep the fun going.

For this impromptu dinner party, I decided fish with a little kick was going to be the main dish. I had hoped to do salmon with mango salsa, but after seeing that less than a kilo of salmon is costing $20, I opted for an alternative - white fish. And in the end, it was still filling and tasty with the tangy mango salsa on the top. At the last minute, I also made a veggie stir-fry rice dish to round out the meal.

Ingredients

2 cups tomatoes, diced

1/2 cups diced peeled ripe mango

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • salt to taste
  • 4 fish fillets
• 
  

Preparation

• To make the salsa, combine the first 7 ingredients. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and garlic.
• Prepare grill. Rub halibut with oil; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.Place fish on grill rack; grill 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Serve with mango salsa.

Buen Provecho!