Grilled Trout/Grilled Pork Chops in Sweet Bell Pepper Marinade

Every once in a while I borrow an idea for a recipe from a friend...and make it better.

Just saying.

A couple of months back, I had gone hiking with my friends Josh Pugliese, David Nigro, and company. When we returned from the wilds of Staten Island, Josh hosted an awesome BBQ with his husband, NY State Assemblyman Matt Titone (D-Staten Island). When we returned to Josh and Matt's home, Mr. Titone was madly at work in the kitchen whipping up something tasty. Josh is the grill master, but Matt was making a marinade that, frankly, was delicious (though a bit too creamy for my tastes).

I asked him what he put in his magic blender, and he shared with me his secret. I took what I liked from it and made a sauce, similar, but my own.

It's simple, it's fresh, it's delicious, and it's cheap...which makes it a prime recipe for The Fairy Chef.

Now, as I was cooking for David (pescatarian), myself, and his family....I used the marinade on fresh center cut pork chops as well as a rainbow trout and a brown trout caught my David's cousin in Maine. It was beautiful.

Grilled Trout and Grilled Pork Chops with Sweet Bell Pepper Marinade

2 trout fillets or whole trout or 4 center cut pork chops
1 large red bell pepper sliced
1 large orange bell pepper sliced
1 jalapeno chopped
4 cloves garlic
1/2 large red onion chopped
1 cup Light Italian Dressing
1/2 cup fresh basil minced or 1 tbsp dried basil flakes
2 tsp salt

First of all you will need a blender or food processor. Turn on the food processor on medium speed. Next, add the ingredients a bunch at a time starting with the bell peppers, then add the Italian dressing, followed by the rest of the ingredients. Once all of the ingredients are in the processor, turn the speed to high and allow to blend for one minute. This makes a richly flavored marinade that is light enough for summer with a bit of a zip from the jalapeno.

Place your pork chops or fish (whichever you choose to make) in a large zip lock bag. Fill the bag until the meat is covered. You will have sauce left over. Set this aside as you will use the sauce for basting the meat on the grill as well as for a condiment at the dinner table.

Shake the meat in the zip lock until it is thoroughly covered (if you have whole trout, make sure the sauce gets inside of the trout). Set the meat aside for at least an hour to let it marinate.

Next prepare your grill. If you are using a gas grill, then you can heat up the grill 10 minutes prior to the time you wish to start cooking. If you are using a charcoal grill, get the coals nice and hot without too much flame before you are ready to put the meat on the grill.

Next take some of the sauce leftover and pour it into a bowl. If you have a basting brush, set the brush and the extra sauce aside. Next put your meat on the grill. Turn the meat every couple of minutes. Each time you turn the meat, baste it with extra sauce. Make sure to cover the meat on the grill between each rotation.

Depending on the thickness of the pork chops and the size of the fish, it should take roughly 10 to 12 minutes to cook the meat thoroughly. For extra security if you cook pork....check the meat before removing it from grill.

Set a small bowl of the marinade on the table to use as a condiment. Enjoy with freshly steamed vegetables (we ate ours with fresh green beans from the garden), and enjoy!

The total cost of the marinade is roughly $4 and the total cost with the fish or the pork chops, depending on seasonal prices, will run you $12-$15 to feed a family of four...with leftovers.

Pollo con Salsa de Vino Blanco (Chicken with White Wine Sauce)

So, the best thing to go with good food is good friends and family. Last night, I was in charge of making the main meat dish, as my dear David is a pescatarian. If it walked on land...he ain't eatin' it.

So, since Karlo was bringing Puerto Rican beans for dinner, I decided, with his consultation, to make chicken.

It was friggin' divine. This chicken was so moist, so flavorful, and so easy to make it was rather sinful. I had the leftovers for lunch today, and it was still moist...and so good it made me a little moist. This one takes a little bit longer to make, as the chicken needs to marinate for a spell, but it is worth the wait.

Please note, in the recipe I advocate buying chicken breasts with the skin on. It takes moments to pull the skin off, and it literally saves $2 a pound in unit price if you buy it with the skin and pull the skin yourself.

Pollo con Salsa de Vino Blanco
2 Large Split Chicken Breasts with Skin On
1/2 cup butter/margarine/butter substitute
3 cups white wine
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/3 cup scallions diced
1 large red bell pepper diced
2 tbs olive oil

First, de-skin your chicken breasts. Lay them in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, heat your butter in the microwave for 20-30 seconds...just until it melts. Pour the butter over the chicken breasts. Then, add the white wine to the bowl. Sprinkle the garlic salt on top of the breasts. Swirl the marinade around in the bowl until the chicken has been covered with a layer of marinade. Cover the bowl with tin foil and leave to sit out on the counter for 1.5 to 2 hours.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add to it the diced scallions. Mix the scallions around in the olive oil and allow to sizzle for about 2 minutes. To that add your chicken breasts including the marinade. Add the chicken to the pan and pour the marinade over top. Let cook for 3 to 4 minutes uncovered, then, place a cover over the pan keeping the heat at medium. Every 5 to 7 minutes, remove the cover from the pan, and turn the chicken. You want to cook the chicken slowly so that it retains its moisture. About 15 minutes in, cut each chicken breast in half. This will allow the chicken to cook faster and ensures that the chicken cooks all the way through. Turn again after 5 to 7 minutes. Keep covered. After about 35 minutes, add the sweet red bell pepper to the pan. Keep the chicken uncovered and cook for another five minutes. Remove from the heat and serve! Salt to taste.

Let me tell you, if you get you a bottle of 3 buck chuck from Trader Joe's this recipe is going to be cheap as hell. Chicken breasts are pricey but the benefit to your health is better than doing this with dark meat, though you most certainly could. The price, depending on the type of wine you use, should run you $11-$16 and will easily feed four people.

PS The picture here is also credited to Karlo Colon!

Hot Suki Suki Shrimp Kabobs

Since posting my collard greens recipe many moons ago, I have had many more requests for recipes. So here is one that I made when David and I were in Bristol. Let me tell you...this won over David's Dad completely.

Brandon's Suki Suki Now Grilled Shrimp Kabobs

Ingredients

One pound fresh shrimp
Two red bell peppers
One package mushrooms
One red onion
Two large green peppers
Two cups soy sauce
Half cup honey
One table spoon crushed red pepper flakes
One teaspoon garlic powder
One orange
Six to Ten metal skewers
Olive oil

First you want to pour the honey into a microwave safe bowl. Add the soy sauce. Microwave the soy sauce and honey for 30 seconds on high. Pull out the mixture and stir thoroughly. Microwaving the honey makes it liquid and easy to mix. Add the crushed red pepper and garlic powder. Cut orange in half and squeeze both halves into the honey and soy sauce marinade. Stir again. Then add the shrimp to the mixture, cover, and let sit for four hours. You can marinate the shrimp for a shorter period of time, but the longer you let them soak the better they will taste.

Chop your bell peppers, mushrooms and onions into roastable sizes. Then, create your skewers by adding a shrimp followed by one of each vegetable including the onion, followed by shrimp and repeat until skewer is full. Brush each kabab with a light layer of olive oil.

Roast the skewers over a charcoal grill until the shrimp turn bright orange. Salt. Serve. Enjoy.

I am telling you...these grilled skewers will make your loved one take off their panties and win the hearts of your inlaws.

Remember to always always always use uncooked shrimp. If you live near a Trader Joe's, they have great large uncooked shrimp, frozen, for around $7.99. The total price for this meal will run you $15 and will make six to ten skewers depending on how you put them together and the size of your skewers.

Yellowfin Tuna Steaks

Hello chilluns:

So, I have had another recipe request, and I thought I would post it here for your consumption.

Ingredients:

2 Eight oz Yellowfin Tuna Steaks
1 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 garlic cloves
1 small piece of fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon of fresh rosemary


In a flat pan or large bowl mix the soy sauce, oregano, chili powder, red pepper flakes, onion powder, and garlic powder together. Dip your steaks in the sauce on both sides. Marinate the steaks for 30 minutes to two hours. If you are going to marinate the steaks for more than 30 minutes, cover and sit in the refrigerator. If for 30 minutes, then leave them out at room temperature.

In a large frying pan, add two tablespoons of olive oil. Heat the oil over a high flame. Mince your ginger and fresh garlic and add to the hot oil. Stir the oil, ginger, and garlic together until the garlic begins to brown. This is to infuse the ginger and garlic into the oil. Remove the steaks from the marinade. Add the steaks to the skillet, and then pour the remaining marinade on top of the steaks. Sear the steaks on each side for approximately two and a half minutes. Add fresh rosemary to the steaks, and then remove from heat. This will cook the steaks roughly half way through and leave a rare center.

Take my advice...while you can cook the steaks the entire way through, tuna is an exceedingly dry fish...and the flavor will be so much better if you leave a rare core to the steaks.

Serve the steaks over brown rice with steamed broccoli and enjoy!

Please note...Trader Joe's, if you happen to live near one, has an excellent assortment of vacuum sealed and frozen fish. You can get quality tuna, snapper, salmon, shrimp (always buy uncooked!) and others in their freezer section, and they are at VERY affordable prices. The total cost for this meal $8-$10 if you are able to get frozen tuna steaks. Fresh tuna steaks will raise the price significantly to $15-$20.