Sunday, June 21, 2015

A Summer Meal

Happy first day of summer!  There are A LOT of things about summer time that I enjoy - summer break, stone fruit, lazy days are just a few.  The sweltering heat is not one of those things.  The temperatures for the next 5 months make one of my favorite things to do - cooking - not so fun.  It's just too darn hot to be in that kitchen with the oven or the burners on.  While I have the time right not for some fun in the kitchen, the kitchen is the last place I want to be this time of year.  So it's outside I must go for some cooking on the grill.  With all the good and fresh summer vegetables and fruit the meals are almost as fun.  This is one of my favorites...
A few years back I found this recipe for garlic lemon chicken kabobs on Annie's Eats.  I've shared it with several friends, and they've all raved about it.  It's a hit and SOOOOOO easy - chicken, olive oil, lemon zest, parsley, garlic, and salt/pepper marinated for 2-3 hours and then grilled.  That's it.



 The lemon flavor with the parsley is so light and fresh in the hot weather.  The chicken is great as is or in a salad.  I even like it cold, from the fridge the next day.  Sometimes I don't "kabob" it, instead cutting the chicken into small pieces that cook quickly.  My favorite way to use it though is in a flatbread sandwich.
We have a Greek restaurant in town that makes the most amazing flat bread.  Anytime I'd buy it at the grocery store, or even a specialty store, it always tasted like cardboard.  A year or so ago, I scoured the internet trying to find a recipe that I could make at home that was similar to what I like at the restaurant.  And I found it!  This recipe on Mel's Kitchen Cafe makes to-die-for flat bread.   The best part is it also freezes really well for later use, and even tastes the same after a quick warm up in the cast iron skillet.  I don't have a lot of experience with yeast breads so it's taken me a couple of tries to get the dough "right", but now I've pretty much got it.  Rolling it out into a perfect circle is another story, but you can't really tell once there's stuff inside them.
  I hadn't made any in awhile, but wanted to some for this meal without heating up the skillet on the burner.  So instead, after cooking the garlic lemon chicken kabobs, I stuck the cast iron skillet on the grill, lowered the lid, and waited for it to heat.  The dough balls were rolled out into flat "circles" and stacked with parchment paper.  By then the pan was hot.  After a minute plus on each side, I had soft chewy flat bread.
Yum!  It's such a good meal and every single part keeps well for a leftover sandwich or two in the upcoming days.  I noticed this picture was taken before the tomatoes and cucumbers were added - that makes the sandwich even better!  And the best part...it was all done outside and my house remained cool despite the hot day.

12 comments:

  1. I just had dinner and looking at the chicken kabobs has me wanting some :)

    Happy first day of summer!!

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    1. They're delicious! And I think anything that tastes good AND is also as EASY as this is, well I just had to share.
      Having people over later this week and I'm making the kabobs again, to go along with a salad. Nom nom nom. :)

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  2. Ooooooh that looks something that would suit me. And so adjustable too. Tarragon instead of parsley and limes instead of lemon. Hell, you drain cook and mash up beans with chilli, even, and go Kim-Mex :-). See what I did.
    I don't think the shop pita has yeast in it. And that's why it's akin to shoe sole. But if you wet it on the outside that helps. But that bread is more a Nan, and really you don't need to bother about it's circularity, ones mouth doesn't care. But with the skillet you could make real good chapati. but you need to be quick.That's a kinda pancake, and you pour it in the middle of the skillet and 'rake' it in a circle like a crepe.
    Damn you anyway, now I'm ready for chicken shish kebab for dinner but I took rump steak out of the freezer last night.
    Oh to get the bread to shape you fold it and throw it holding one side eventually it'll simply allow you to pull like a pizza.

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    1. I do chicken all the time, so a steak sounds good too!!! :)
      Yes, I can "spin" round pizza dough like a pro. For this bread I've used a rolling pin each time. I've tried the pizza method but it felt like it never wanted to stretch. Maybe it needed to rest a bit longer. The first few pieces are always more like triangles or a circle with a leg, but they get better as I go.
      I think the chepati is a lot like a flour tortilla, no? I've never ventured out and done a crepe...they sound hard to make. This is more similar in texture to naan bread, but not quite as thick as I've seen naan. It's fluffy but really pliable.
      I have another kebob recipe with honey and cilantro that is outstanding too, but I supposed you won't want that recipe. ;)

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    2. It's years since I made a crepe. I was friendly with a bunch of French people in Galway andat any party they'd wheel out the crepe iron. All it is is a hot plate and they put the mix in the middle and wheedle a thing like a rake all around to thin it so it's not sooo much a pan cake. They then had a icing knife, a long flat blunt iron flexy thing that they pushed under the edge and then flipped over.
      And you can stick your cilantro where the monkey hid the nuts :-). Aren't tortilla crispy, usually. That would be more a popadom. The chepati is more bready, but thin.
      There's some of the Italian bread very like Nan. But in truth I think that's more fashion fad these days than anything historically Italian, or any place else for that matter.

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    3. This http://www.amazon.com/CucinaPro-1448-Griddle-Crepe-Maker/dp/B001EZCJL8

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    4. No, tortillas aren't like a cracker. They wrap around the different foods like a, well, wrap. There are hard taco shells that are sold in the stores that are crunchy like a cracker, but those aren't really tortillas. Even when a corn tortilla is fried into a crispy taco, it's still somewhat malleable.
      I've seen the crepes being made at fairs or farmer's market. Surely it's one of those things that once you get the hang of it, it's easy. But the whole flipping over thing is certain to be a mess. It's definitely a skill.
      How was your steak?!?!

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  3. I can assure you if I still ate poultry, I'd be trying this recipe in a heartbeat! It looks delicious!

    I checked out the flatbread recipe, too, and I might have to try that at some point...subbing a plant milk, of course. It would go great with lots of the stuff I make (hummus, dal, etc.) or just on the side with a salad.

    My poor little Weber is out of commission for the moment unless I want to sit and monitor the cooking (which can get hot this time of year). I backed over the lid awhile back and it no longer fits on the grill. Without that, I can't trust the dogs by leaving it for a moment while in use.

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    1. Yes! I think you could substitute an almond milk for it not problem. It is very little. The website mentions using alternative milks in both her notes as well as the comments.
      Oh no on the grill! The dogs would be in doggie heaven if they found an unattended grill. :)

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    2. Oh, and as I mentioned, the bread freezes so well. I let them cool after cooking and then seal them in a ziplock. That way you can take one or two out at a time. They also make great mini pizza crusts!

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  4. mmm that chicken looks good
    just bought a bunch of peaches.. plumcots and berries..

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    1. Yes, I went to the farmer's market yesterday and the peaches and nectarines are in good shape now. A couple of weeks ago they were still mealy and flavorless. I love plumcots - they're called pluots here. Summer fruit makes me so happy. :)

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