The Midweek Salad

Grilled Romaine

Did you know lettuce made the top ten garden vegetables in America? It ranked number nine; trailing behind hot peppers, onions, zucchini, carrots, beans, sweet peppers, cucumber and tomatoes. The good news is lettuce beat out beans!

I received an email request that inspired this post. This was one of those recipes I did for my live PBS grilling shows that made people scratch their head years ago. The audience in the Disney Parks was at first shocked, then amazed! Now, its considered all the buzz, appearing on other cooking shows including chain restaurants. I guess they Know their Fire! Ha! Well, here's the how-to on grilling-up a delicious appetizer or side. I'll be making it this week. Enjoy! Top with this dressing.

Grilled Romaine

Makes four servings 

chefgeorgehirsch.com | Adventures in Grilling, 1996 by George Hirsch w/ Marie Bianco

2 Heads of hearts of romaine lettuce, split in half & washed

4 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

6 cloves caramelized garlic

A pinch of sea salt 

1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 Tablespoon fresh Italian parsley, rough chopped

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Shaved Parmesan cheese

Pre heat grill to high heat.

Cut the romaine heart in half lengthwise, leaving stem end intact. Soak romaine heads in bowl of cold water. Brush with olive oil.

Put romaine halves on hot grill. Cook for about 2 minutes each side, until lettuce begins to blister slightly and lettuce gets a slight char. Turn over and grill for 2 additional minutes.  

Remove and plate cut side up, and top each with remaining olive oil, balsamic, garlic cloves, Parmesan, prosciutto, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve while still warm.

Optional: serve with thinly sliced prosciutto, grilled chicken, or grilled shrimp. 

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Summer Berry Cheesecake

Local berries of all types are in everywhere, and are at their peak - the perfect inspiration for topping my classic New York Style Cheesecake. So I suggest you run out to your local farm stand and get them while they are there! 

TIP: 

• Bake it blonde, with no color. Put a small piece of foil loosely on the top of the cheesecake an hour into baking to keep the cheesecake from coloring on top.

New York Style CheeseCake

Recipe by Chef George Hirsch | Makes 12-16 servings

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle Magazine

To prepare the crumb bottom:

1-1/2 cups *vanilla wafers, grind into crumbs, or good cake crumbs

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Line bottom and sides of a 10 inch tart pan, or 9 inch spring form baking pan with parchment paper. Parchment paper can overlap sides to make removal of cheesecake easier after baking. Place cookies in food processor; process until fine crumbs form. In a bowl mix cookie crumbs, melted butter and press onto bottom of pan. Refrigerate ten minutes.

2 pounds, 4-8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup Turbino (natural sugar in the raw) sugar

2 teaspoons cornstarch 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons lemon zest

3 whole eggs, beaten and at room temperature

3 yolks, add to whole eggs

1 cup sour cream, room temperature

To prepare cheesecake:

Preheat oven to oven to 400°F.

At medium speed with an electric mixer cream the cream cheese until smooth. Mix cornstarch with sugar and add to cream cheese. Reduce the mixer speed to low until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed after each addition, mix just until blended. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl well after each addition. Add vanilla and sour cream in two stages, stopping mixer and scrape bowl after each addition. Pour cheesecake filling over crumb bottom.

Bake 10 minutes at  400°F.; lower temperature to 225°F and continue baking 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until center is set. 

Cool 1 hour, un-mold cheesecake carefully from baking pan, refrigerate 2 hours. 

Add a Topping:

2 cups fresh mixed berries

1/4 cup raspberry jam, warm

Just before serving, arrange berries on top of cake. Warm jam in a microwave safe container for a few seconds, to slightly melted. Drizzle jam on top of berries and serve. 

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13 EPISODES on 4 HD-DVD Disk Set, season one

$19.95

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Know Your Fire Fridays: Ancient Grilling

One of the oldest cooking techniques in existence, the art of grilling meat on a skewer was derived from medieval Turkish soldiers who used their swords to cook meat over open fires. An Adana kebabi from the south of Turkey is a savory mixture of minced lamb, cumin, cayenne, black pepper, dried oregano and mint. The meat is shaped into a long cylindrical shape like a long hot dog or sausage, then pierced onto a long metal skewer and grilled in one piece. It is served removed from the skewer and cut up.

Adana is named after the 5th largest city in Turkey, Adana. There are very strict guidelines and inspections that must be passed by The Adana Chamber of Commerce in order to be an authentic Adana kebabi vendor.

Adana kebabi has to be made from the meat of a male lamb. The skewered meat, must be roasted on fireless, charcoal embers exclusively from oak wood. The skewers are frequently turned during grilling using caution so the melting fat is not dripped on the embers causing a flair up. The Adana is served on flat bread by pressing the meat off the skewers after cooking; when wrapped and served in a flat bread, it's called a Dürüm. Authentic accompaniments served with adana include; charred tomatoes, green or red peppers, onions and parsley seasoned with sumac or lemon pepper seasoning, and warm hummus.

Adana or Kiyma Kebabi

Makes 4 servings

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle

1 pound ground lamb or ground beef 

1/4 teaspoon ground red (cayenne) pepper

1/2 teaspoon each; ground cumin, dried oregano

1 Tablespoon each: fresh parsley and fresh mint

1 egg white

Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Pinch Sea salt

Olive oil

2 fresh lemons, quartered

Fresh Mint 

1 cup plain Greek yogurt, optional. Or, serve with Tzatziki Sauce

Mix the meat with the cayenne, cumin, oregano, parsley, mint, black pepper, and salt in a bowl. Add the egg white and continue to combine until the mixture is well blended.

Grease skewers with cooking spray or oil. If possible, use long, flat metal skewers. Divide the meat mixture into 2-4 (depending on the length of skewer), 2 inch wide thick sausage shapes. Push the skewer through the middle, lengthwise, and squeeze the mixture up and down the skewer, spreading it evenly. Repeat with the other skewer. 

Cover and place in refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes. This will help the meat hold together. When ready to grill, brush the outside of meat with olive oil.

Preheat the grill to high. 

Place skewers on very hot grill. Grill 5 minutes, turning frequently, or until cooked through. Serve immediately with sides of yogurt, fresh lemon, fresh chopped mint, and an onion & parsley salad.

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Dessert Grilled

I don’t have a sweet tooth and unlike most people I can pass on chocolate. However, growing up, it would not be summer without my mom whipping-up a bunch of banana boats, my favorite summer sweet treat. It's one of those summer dessert traditions I look forward to every year. I know your whole family will love them. And, so much so I included Banana Boats in my first cookbook!

Tips: Use large yellow bananas with the barest green tips. Avoid using bananas that are too ripe. For true decadence, top the bananas with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream and some chopped pecans before serving.

Grilled Banana Boats

Makes 6 adults servings, or 3 child servings

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle

6 bananas

Three 1-ounce good quality chocolate bars; milk chocolate, dark chocolate, broken into small pieces, or 6 Tablespoons chocolate chips

2 cups mini-marshmallows

six 12 inch squares aluminum foil

Preheat a gas grill, or use a hot-charcoal grill; after cooking your main food item.

Split bananas down the inner sides, but do not remove the peels. Spread the peels apart and evenly place the chocolate pieces and marshmallows between the bananas and the peels. Bring the edges of the peels together as closely as possible and wrap each banana in aluminum foil.

Grill the bananas for 4-5 minutes; turn them and move them to the cooler edge of the grill for 4 to 5 minutes.

Serve and eat immediately.

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5 SPICE New York Strip Rubbed Steak

Grilling a good steak is easy, grilling a good steak with stellar results requires a couple of simple steps. My signature rub will enhance virtually any meat. Here it's used to great effect on strip steaks, but is equally good on rib eye, porterhouse, and sirloin. 

5 SPICE New York Strip Rubbed Steak

Makes 4 to 8 servings

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle  

1 Tablespoon each: sweet paprika, powdered garlic, dried oregano, dried thyme, black pepper

2 Tablespoons Turbinado sugar ("sugar in the raw")

2 (32—36 ounce) boneless New York strip steaks, cut 2-inch thick

Olive oil

2 cloves of fresh garlic, thinly sliced

Black pepper, to taste

Pinch sea salt

2 sprigs fresh rosemary, cut into 4 pieces 

Combine spices, herbs, pepper and sugar. Rub all over steaks and refrigerate for one hour to overnight.

Remove rubbed steaks from refrigerator 30 minutes before grilling. Drizzle each with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic, pepper and salt. 

Preheat grill to high. 

When it's hot, place steaks on grill and top each one with a piece of rosemary. After 2 minutes lift the steaks, using tongs or steak spatula, and rotate them 45 degrees to make crosshatch marks. After 2 to 3 minutes, remove but do not discard rosemary, turn the steaks over and move them to the cooler edges of the grill, or lower the heat to medium. Replace rosemary sprigs, and continue cooking until the meat is done. (An instant-read thermometer will read 125 for rare, 130 for medium-rare, 140 for medium.) Avoid turning the steaks over several times.

Allow steaks to rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Sprinkle with fresh rosemary and olive oil before serving. 

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