grill, baby, grill

The weather in Portland lately has been absolute perfection, so we've been grilling a ton.  Or should I say Jared has been grilling a ton. Did I mention he cooks dinner for us pretty much every night? Did I also mention he's the best husband ever? I did?  Well, it bears repeating after the deliciousness he cooked up this week. We have a nice arrangement really... I pin new recipes to try, and he makes them for us. Here's what he made...

• Chicken Parm Burgers from Annie's Eats - Jared looooooves Chicken Parm, so when I saw these I knew we had to try them. They were soooooo good and easy enough for a weeknight meal. (A note about using ground meat - if you have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, I HIGHLY recommend getting the meat grinder attachment. We started grinding our own meat a couple years ago and it makes a huge difference. In our experience, freshly ground meat stays much juicier when cooked than store-bought ground meat.)

• Garlic Lemon Chicken Kabobs from Annie's Eats - Clearly I've been a little obsessed with Annie's Eats lately, but for good reason - she makes some darn good food! And these kabobs were no exception. So juicy and flavorful. The garlic isn't too heavy if you're someone who doesn't like a ton of garlic. We had them with rice pilaf, but skipped the tzakiki sauce because Jared's not a fan (I, on the other hand, am a BIG fan). Anyway, just make 'em... you won't be disappointed.

photo courtesy of Annie's Eats

• Ginger Soy Lime Marinated Shrimp from Bobby Flay - We usually do an herb marinade when we grill shrimp, but we were getting pretty bored with that so we set out to find another recipe that would be just as easy and just as tasty. This recipe definitely fit the bill. It may even replace the herb marinade as our go-to for shrimp. The combination of flavors was really pleasing - not too sweet, not too salty.  Just perfect, really. We'll be making these again very soon.

image courtesy of Food Network

PS... sorry for the lack of a Link Love post last Friday. Emma decided she didn't want to nap last week so I didn't get much done. She's napping in the Moby as I type this so hopefully this week will go a bit more smoothly! :)

basil lime sorbet

After a cold spring during which most of our veggies and herbs died, our basil has made quite the comeback over the past couple of months. It's basically a basil bush now. We've made a variety of pastas, pestos, and caprese salads, but we can't seem to make a dent in it. So I got a little excited when I came across a recipe for basil lime sorbet. It sounded a bit strange, but I figured it was worth a shot. I'll take any excuse I can get to make sorbet, ice cream, or really anything that calls for a large amount of sugar.

I decided to double the recipe to use up even more basil, so it took about 9 small organic limes to get 1 1/2 cups of fresh lime juice.

Our basil leaves were bigger than what we normally get from the store, but I didn't want to deviate from the recipe on the first try so I used the full 40 leaves (recipe x 2).

I started to get a little concerned about the end result after blending all the ingredients together.  The color was similar to mushy peas.

But the taste was interesting... and not in a bad way.  So I stuck with it.  After the blending I had to stray from the recipe because I wanted to use my ice cream maker instead of the freeze and chop method they suggested.  I let the mixture sit out on the counter for 30 minutes to let it cool a bit, then covered it and put it in the fridge until the temperature reached 40 degrees.  Once it reached the right temp, I put it in the ice cream maker and let it churn for about 25 minutes.  Then I scraped it into a bowl, covered the sorbet with wax paper, and put the air-tight cover on.  I stuck it in the freezer to finish hardening for a few hours, then it was time to try it out...

So here's the thing about this sorbet... despite it's strange color - it's good.  It might be really good.  If it was part of a prix fixe meal at a fancy Italian restaurant I'd probably be really impressed.  The basil and lime were surprisingly complimentary, and it was a great way to use up a ton of basil.  But it's not something I'm going to crave - which is probably a good thing considering we're going to Hawaii in a few weeks.  It's kind of like Red Vines.  It's really close to what you want (Twizzlers), but it doesn't quite hit the spot.  It leaves you wishing you'd saved those calories for the treat you really wanted (in this case a huge honkin' bowl of chocolate gelato.)  But the recipe gets great reviews on AllRecipes.com, so maybe you'll love it.  If you have your own basil bush in your backyard, or you just really love basil, give it a try...

Basil Lime Sorbet

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 20 fresh basil leaves, minced

Method:

1) Make a simple syrup by bringing the sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan; allow to boil 1 minute; remove from heat.

2) Combine the syrup, lime juice, and basil in a blender; puree.

3) Pour the mixture into a container and cover; store in freezer until completely frozen, about 2 hours.

4) Break the frozen mixture into pieces and place in the blender; blend until smooth. Return to the container and cover. Store in freezer until ready to serve.

OR, if you're going to use an ice cream maker...

3) Pour the mixture into a container and set it on the counter to cool for 30 minutes.  Then cover and place in the refrigerator until the mixture reaches 40 degrees or colder.

4) Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and churn according to the machine's instructions.  Scrape into an air-tight container, cover with wax paper and then the bowl cover, and place in the freezer for at least an hour to let it harden.