Shrimp, Black Bean, and Pineapple Foil Packets

I didn’t make this dinner. Joe actually made it on a rainy Tuesday while I was sitting in traffic trying to get home from the hospital. I had asked him to prep a couple of the things. Mostly, I was hoping that he would peel the shrimp because I despise peeling shrimp. Not only did he prep a few ingredients, but when I walked in the door, the foil packets were on the grill.

Granted, we had a short window for dinner due to our new membership in our condominium bridge game on Tuesday nights. We’re the youngest people by about 30 years, but if two 96 year-old women are playing, there must be something about it keeping the mind sharp. Neither Joe nor I had played in 8-10 years, but they were patient with us and answered our questions when we couldn’t figure out how to bid. Joe even ended up being the highest scorer of the night and took home the grand prize of $5.

So I can’t tell you much about the preparation of this meal, but I can tell you that the shrimp were really juicy and not at all dry or rubbery like shrimp can be. The foil packet method was especially easy for clean-up, and the citrus flavors of the lime and pineapple gave it a Latin-Caribbean vibe. Hopefully we’ll get to use the grill well into October, but this was a quintessentially summer meal.

Shrimp, Black Bean, and Pineapple Foil Packets
source: Cara’s Cravings
Yields 2 servings

Ingredients

8oz raw, medium sized shrimp (peeled, deveined)
1 cup cooked black beans
3/4 cup finely diced pineapple
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons minced jalapeno pepper
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons lime juice, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin, divided
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
pinch of salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1/2 avocado, diced
Lettuce wrap, quinoa, couscous, or whole wheat tortilla for serving

Preparation

Preheat grill to medium.
Rinse the shrimp and pat dry. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the black beans, pineapple, red onion, jalapeno, and ginger. Stir in 1 tablespoon lime juice, coriander, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cumin.
Spray two large pieces of aluminum foil with cooking spray. Spoon half of the black bean mixture into the center of each and top with half of the shrimp. Squeeze the remaining lime juice over the shrimp. Bring the edges of the foil together and fold down, sealing well.
Place the foil packets on the grill, cover, and cook for 10-12 minutes, until shrimp are opaque.
Carefully open the foil packets and stir the contents. Top with the diced avocado and sprinkle with cilantro.

The Perfect Veggie Burger

Angela at Oh She Glows is my top blogger-crush. She’s gorgeous, writes beautifully, and makes creative, drool-worthy vegan food. She is also honest about her own issues with food and eating disorders, and out of all of the so-called “healthy living bloggers,” she is one who really seems to have done some very challenging personal and spiritual work around how she treats her body and isn’t afraid to talk about it. Recently, she was on a quest for the perfect veggie burger, in her own words, she wanted a burger that:

• Can’t be mushy in the middle
• Crispy outer shell
• Lots of flavour from fresh herbs & spices
• No tofu (not a fan)
• Crunchy, chewy texture is a must
• No cracking or falling apart
• Must cook well 3 ways: frying pan, oven, and BBQ
• Could make a grown man shed a tear of joy (ok, that was my requirement, heh)

Well, except that Joe wasn’t shedding any tears (though he did remark, unprovoked, that they were the best veggie burgers we’d ever had), these burgers fulfill every criterion. Note that there was no “comes together quickly” criterion. These require a bit of prep work (and kitchen mess), but the batch made 8 patties, so I ended up freezing the rest for later. My mini food processor really got a workout! The nuts add so much texture and crunch, and they held up beautifully on the grill.

It was very nearly a perfect summer meal, with grilled corn and okra on the side, and it was all vegan until Joe topped his burger with some non-vegan pesto and I sprinkled my corn with some spicy Parmesan seasoning. I will definitely be keeping a batch of these in the freezer to throw on top of a salad or for a quick dinner.

The Perfect Veggie Burger
source: Oh She Glows
Yields 8 medium-size patties

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• Flax eggs: 2.5 tbsp ground flax + 1/2 cup warm water, mixed in bowl (I used a chia egg with the same amount of chia seeds.)
• 1 cup oats, processed into flour
• 1.5 cups bread crumbs
• 1 cup grated carrots
• 1 cup cooked black beans, rinsed and roughly pureed or mashed
• Heaping 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley (or fresh herb of choice)
• 1/3 cup almonds, chopped (toasted if preferred)
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, (toasted if preferred)
• 1 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tbsp soy sauce 
• 1.5 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. oregano
• Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp kosher salt)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350F (if baking). In a large skillet, sauté onions and garlic in 1/2 tbsp oil. Mix your flax or chia egg together in a small bowl and set aside for at least 10 mins while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

2. Place all ingredients (except spices and salt) into a large mixing bowl and stir very well. Now, add seasonings and salt to taste.

3. With slightly wet hands, shape dough into patties. Pack dough tightly as this will help it stick together.

4. Cooking methods: You can fry the burgers in a bit of oil on a skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side. If baking in the oven, bake for 30-36 mins (15-18 minutes on each side) at 350F, until golden and crisp. For the grill, pre-bake the burgers for about 15 minutes in oven before placing on a pre-heated grill until golden and crisp on each side.

Dinner Divas: Chicken Cobb Burgers

Two ladies on the cooking board I frequent decided to come up with a new cooking group that was very relaxed and had few requirements. You could make the recipes or not, change the recipes or not, etc. This sounded like it was my sort of speed, so I signed up. This is the first recipe of the Dinner Divas. We get a choice of 4 recipes and the goal is to make 2 of them a month.



As you may be able to see from the picture, this was a very serious burger. The combination of chicken, blue cheese, avocado, tomato, bacon, and lettuce is not for the faint of heart, quite literally. If you are on some sort of low-fat diet, stay away from this burger. Honestly, it was a bit much for me. I'm not a big bacon fan to begin with, so I could've done without that, and I probably made the burgers a bit on the large side.

However, this recipe introduced me to some interesting techniques. I chose to stuff the burgers with the blue cheese instead of melting it on top, creating a little pocket in the middle full of blue cheese. "A pocket of happiness," as Joe called it. I will definitely employ this technique again.

Grilling the bacon was another new technique, though this one didn't turn out so well. I would've much rather fried the bacon inside or on the side burner of the grill because it didn't come out uniformly crispy. The bacon was almost burnt on the edges and soggy in the middle.

I did enjoy the burger, even if it was a bit rich for my taste. I liked the ground chicken with the blue cheese a lot. We ended up eating the dressed romaine on the side as a salad rather than putting it on top of the burger because there was no way you could eat it like that. Overall, it was a success, but if I make it again, I'll forgo the bacon altogether and make the burgers a little smaller.

Chicken Cobb Burger
Recipe courtesy of Bobby Flay and Food Network

For the burgers:

8 (1/2- thick) strips bacon
1 1/2 pounds ground chicken, 90 percent lean
2 tablespoons canola oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
4 burger buns, split
1 large ripe beefsteak tomato, cut into 4 slices
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into 8 slices

For the vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup finely shredded romaine lettuce

For the burgers:

Heat the grill to medium.

Place the strips of bacon on the grill (lay them across the grate so they don't fall through) and grill for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown and slightly crispy. Remove the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels. Increase the heat of the grill to high.

Form the meat into 4 (8-ounce) burgers, brush with the oil and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Grill the burgers until golden brown on both sides and cooked completely through, about 5 minutes per side. Top the burgers with the blue cheese, close the cover, and continue cooking until the cheese begins to melt, about 1 minute longer.

Place the burgers on the bottom half of each bun and top with a slice of tomato, 2 slices of avocado, 2 slices of bacon and some of the dressed romaine. Cover each burger with the bun tops and serve.

For the vinaigrette:

Whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire, garlic, sugar, salt, pepper and oil in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using to allow the flavors to meld.

Just before assembling the burgers, place the romaine in a medium bowl and toss with the vinaigrette

Grilled Salmon

The original plan was to make this on Friday night, but by the time Joe and I got home, we were tired and didn't want to cook, so it got shuffled to Saturday night and we went out for beer and Mexican food.

For a wedding present, my brother and his girlfriend sent us a box of assorted fish fillets from Omaha Steaks. The salmon fillets were the only ones remaining. The box came with mahi mahi, Swordfish steaks, and halibut and were all delicious. Definitely a present to keep in mind if you know someone who really likes fish.

Saturday was very nice. Joe and I had gone to a wine tasting at our neighborhood wine store, grabbed frozen coffee drinks at a local coffee shop, and then had a friend over for beers so that we could discuss the party that we're throwing at our house in August for my incoming Divinity School class. So this meal was a great way to top off the day.



Glazed Salmon On The Grill (marinade from here)

We marinated the salmon in 1/3 cup soy sauce and 1/3 cup maple syrup for about an hour, laid some aluminum foil over the grill, and cooked the salmon on medium heat.

I also grilled some zucchini that was brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. The salad dressing is a new one for me, a creamy vinaigrette made with non-fat yogurt. I thought the tanginess of the yogurt really made the dressing. The salmon was delicious too, though I think next time I would use lite soy sauce as it was a tad salty for me.