Not sure where to begin. Okay, I won't start with the dessert. For dinner, we "cooked the cover." This week at Stop and Shop they gave out copies of their magazine, Savory. The first recipe was Steak Kabobs with Tomato Salad and Grilled Bread. I had everything in the house except the steak. I even had Foccacia in the freezer!
This is my version of the Savory recipe -
Ingredients-
¼ cup lemon juice
½ cup olive oil
1 tsp crushed red pepper
8 oz sirloin steak
1 focaccia round
½ red onion
4 skewers
1-pint cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
Method-
Heat a gas or charcoal grill to medium-high heat. Place in a bowl the lemon juice, oil, red pepper, salt (in moderation) and pepper to taste. Whisk until combined. Cut the steak into 1-inch cubes.
Place the steak in a resealable plastic bag with half the marinade and allow to sit for at least 20 min. at room temperature. For added flavor, chill marinade for up to 12 hours. Brush the bread on both sides with a little of the marinade. Cut the red onion into 1-inch squares.
Carefully skewer the steak cubes, and red onions onto the skewers. Place the skewers on the barbecue and grill for about 8–10 min., turning so each side browns. Remove skewers from grill and leave to rest for 5 min., loosely covered with foil.
While kebabs are resting, grill the bread for about 2 min. or until golden and crisp, turning once. Slice the tomatoes, then toss with the parsley and remaining marinade. Serve kabobs with grilled bread and tomato salad.
I have to say the best part of this recipe was the Focaccia. Who's surprised I said that?
Now about dessert. I don't make a lot of desserts for us. Yes, I make cookies for every occasion but Chris and I are not big dessert people. But I saw this recipe for Panna Cotta on the David Lebovitz Facebook page and I had to make it. The past few days the weather has been rather warm here. So the fact that the oven was not used was a big selling point. This was so easy! And OMG the taste was sublime. The consistency was spot on. Spoiler alert to anyone who may be having dinner at my house, this will be the dessert you will be served. The flavor combinations are endless and did I mention how darn easy it is?
Ingredients-
1 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1/2 packet powdered unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 tbsp cold water
4 Mini Graham Cracker Pie Crusts
Method-
Heat the heavy cream or half-and-half and sugar in a saucepan . Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a medium-sized bowl and let stand 5 to 10 minutes.
Pour the very warm Panna Cotta mixture over the gelatin and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved.
Divide the Panna Cotta mixture into the Mini Graham Cracker Pie Crusts, then chill them until firm, which should take about 2 hours.