Grilling the Subject (29 page)

(serves 2 as a side dish, and 1 as an entrée)

2 fresh tomatoes, sliced

1 ear of corn, cooked, kernels sliced off

1 celery stalk, diced

½ teaspoon white or black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Mix the tomatoes, corn, and celery in a large bowl and add the pepper, salt, and lemon juice.

This may also be served as a salsa!

From Katie:

Hiya, cowboy cookie lovers! Yup, these have a lot of ingredients, so I know that makes Jenna really nervous, but for the daring bakers out there who take risks like I do, it's easy. Think: dry vs. wet. Put all the dry ingredients together first. See them in the list? They are at the top. Set them aside. Now focus on the wet items. At the end, you add the last three items that give the cookies their “grit”: oats, Chex-type cereal, and chocolate chips. It's a snap! And for all you cookie lovers who don't need to eat gluten-free, just switch out the gluten-free flour for regular flour and omit the xanthan gum. Yup, it's that easy, pardner. Little side note: prepare the cooked oatmeal ahead of time. It takes 30 minutes.

(makes 36 to 48 cookies)

2¼ cups gluten-free flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon xanthan gum

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening (
see below
)

1¼ cups firmly packed light brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

6 tablespoons peanut butter

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup cooked steel-cut oats, cooked ahead of time (
see below
)

1 cup gluten-free Rice Chex–type cereal

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, in a large bowl, beat the shortening until creamy.

[Here's a tip for measuring the shortening, which can be difficult to measure because it's so sticky. In a 2-cup measuring cup, measure 1 cup of water. Add shortening until the water measures 2 cups. That means you have 1 cup of shortening. Pour off the water. Now add the extra 2 tablespoons of shortening.]

Gradually add in the brown and granulated sugars and beat well.

Add the peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla, and mix until all is combined.

Add the flour mixture, cooked oats, and cereal. Mix until blended. Add the chocolate chips. Stir well. The mixture will “puff” or aerate.

Drop the dough in portions approximately 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet, using a 2-inch cookie scoop.
[If you don't have a cookie scoop, an ice cream scoop will do. Note: I only got 6 to 8 cookies on a sheet because they spread so much. They are definitely “cowboy-sized” cookies!]

Bake for 11 to 12 minutes. The cookies should be nice and brown so they can get crisp. Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes.

Transfer to wire racks; cool completely. Store in airtight containers.

TO COOK THE OATS

In a 6- to 8-quart saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add 1 cup uncooked steel-cut oats. Bring to a boil again, then return to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the oatmeal cool completely.

From Jenna:

I will always remember my mother's meat loaf. She served it every Friday without fail. I'm not sure if it was because it was so easy and she had a busy Friday or if she knew it was one of my father's favorite meals. The apples give it a nice texture and flavor. Whenever I have it, it brings back warm memories. How I miss her!

(serves 6)

½ green apple, pared and sliced (about ½ cup)

½ cup chopped yellow onion (about ¼ large onion)

¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1 egg

2 pounds ground turkey

1 tablespoon bouquet garni (I use Penzey's)

Preheat the oven to 300°F.

Dump all the ingredients into a bowl. If you don't have bouquet garni, make a mixture of equal parts thyme, rosemary, and basil.

Mush the mixture with your hands and press into a 5-by-9-inch loaf pan.

Bake for 1 hour, until nicely browned on top. Serve hot.

From Katie:

I have a friend who must eat low-sugar items. This recipe is not sugar-free. I use a sugar substitute that is sugar-free and I really like it for its consistency, but note that there
is
sugar in ketchup. So if you can tolerate a little sugar, this is a good sauce for you. It's so tasty! P.S.: You might be wondering why some sauces have a
regional
name to them. Well, they generally fall into four categories: vinegar and pepper, mustard, light tomato, or heavy tomato. This one is the vinegar-and-pepper kind. Enjoy!

(yields 1½ cups sauce)

1 cup ketchup

¼ cup water

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons Swerve (sugar substitute)

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

½ tablespoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon white pepper

3 to 4 pounds pork spare ribs

Preheat the oven to 300°F.

In a small bowl, mix the ketchup, water, cider vinegar, Swerve, mustard, garlic powder, and white pepper.

On a large baking sheet, place a long piece of aluminum foil. Rinse the ribs and cut them into portions. Set the ribs
on the foil and brush both sides liberally with the sauce. Turn the ribs bone-side down on the foil. Top with more foil and pinch the foil tightly to seal.

Bake for 1½ hours. One hour “in,” heat the barbecue to medium.

Remove the ribs from the oven, then remove them from the foil and set them on the hot barbecue, bone-side down. Cook for 10 minutes. Flip and cook another 10 minutes. Be careful not to let your barbecue temperature climb too high. You don't want to burn the sauce.

From Jenna:

I learned to grill chicken from my dad. He says to bake the chicken first in the oven to seal in the juices. Simply wrap the chicken in foil and bake at 300
°
F for 30 to 40 minutes. Then heat the grill to medium-low and grill the chicken slowly, 5 to 10 minutes a side, until the chicken is cooked through. Start basting after the chicken is seared on both sides. Baste and turn often.

(makes enough for 1 whole chicken or 4 chicken quarters—leg/thigh or breast/wing combinations)

¼ cup Rose's sweetened lime juice

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons tequila

1 tablespoon safflower oil

¼ teaspoon white pepper

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 whole chicken or 4 chicken quarters

In a small saucepan, mix the lime juice, honey, tequila, safflower oil, pepper, salt, and cornstarch. Over medium-high heat, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sauce thickens. Remove the saucepan from heat. Keep at room temperature.

Grill the unseasoned chicken as you normally would, brushing with oil so it won't burn.

After the chicken has seared, baste the chicken on both sides with the barbecue sauce. Grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side. Baste again. And again.

This is a light, sweet, but savory sauce.

From Jenna:

I'm graduating to more difficult recipes, it appears. Barbecue sauces can do that to a girl. There are so many spices, but Katie says, “Break a recipe into steps and it won't be overwhelming.” She, like my dad, also likes to slow-cook ribs before barbecuing. She has taught me to tightly wrap the ribs in foil without sauce and bake for 1½ hours at 300
°
F. Then heat the barbecue to medium-low, baste the ribs, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes per side. Slow-cooking will make the meat fall off the bone. Be careful not to let your barbecue temperature climb too high. You don't want to burn the sauce.

(yields 2 cups sauce)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup ketchup

⅓ cup water

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons steak sauce

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon molasses

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

1 teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon white or black pepper, ground fine

½ yellow onion, diced

1 garlic clove, diced

Heat the vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the ketchup, water, cider vinegar, brown sugar, steak sauce, Worcestershire sauce, molasses, yellow mustard, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil.

Add the onion and garlic, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the onions are tender, about 15 minutes.

Strain the sauce into a bowl through a mesh sieve, pressing a spoon on the onions and garlic to extract any liquid.