The AC broke.

[wildeyed]

Unlikely to be repaired until next week. My kitchen is hot, hot, hot! In the not so distant past, nobody had AC, and yet they managed to eat dinner without calling the pizza guy. So I am sure I can make this work. But I need some new hot weather recipes!

Tonight I will make a tuna/chick pea salad and dump it on a bed of lettuce. Tomorrow, probably fire up the grill. Any other favorite summer recipes I should try?

[Stinky The Clown]

1. Here's one I just posted

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x9183

You have my condolences on the departure of your AC!

Hopefully you'll be getting the same air mass heading our way (just north of you in DC/Baltimore). Supposed to be dryer and in upper 70s during the day and low 60s at night. A whole week of this. Hopefully, you'll be getting this same air mass and can survive the no AC blues.

[wildeyed]

2. Good idea.

I want to get better at grilling this year. I know how to grill basic meat and nothing else. This is a good place to start learning to do veggies.

The past few days have been really nasty hot, but today it seemed to cool down a little. Glad to hear there is better weather on the way :)

[Stinky The Clown]

6. Grilling veggies is sooo easy

Peel and grill ... voila!

Well ... almost that easy. Ideally, grilled veggies are between raw and cooked. Very much still al dente. Depending on the veggie, you may want to coat it in olive oil and salt it before grilling ... but not always. Grilling veggies is a great way to enjoy fresh veggies. If you think of concentrating flavors more than cooking, you're on the way to success. You want to err on the side of under cooking rather than over cooking. Keep in mind that almost all veggies can be eaten raw, so all you want to do is add heat and drive out enough moisture to concentrate their flavors. A little char and smoke flavor adds to the whole thing. In most cases, you want the highest heat you can get.

Here's a few hints ......

Peppers: cut into big chunks, coat with olive oil, salt to taste. grill skin down till char is visible, flip, cook a minute or three more ... done.

Asparagus : olive oil and salt, grill, rolling frequently, till lightly charred, done. Optional: drizzle with some balsamico and sprinkle with parmesan.

Corn on the cob: leave the husk in place. Do nothing to the corn. Put the whole husk on the grill and let 'er rip till the husk is near black. As soon as you can handle them, peel and eat. We often find we need no butter or salt. The grilling **really** intensifies the sweetness of fresh corn.

Tomatoes: Cut in half and grill with skin side down. You could stuff them first if you want to. But since the stuffing won't really have enough time to cook, best to used a cooked stuffing.

Mushrooms: Coat in olive oil and grill till well seared. Portobello caps make great sandwiches. Coat in olive oil and grill gill side down. Flip to grill the tops. You could add some sauteed garlic, some breadcrumbs, salt and pepper, etc. to flavor them by putting whatever you like onto the gills after they're top down (2nd stage of the grilling process).

Zucchini: Slice lengthwise, coat in olive oil and salt, grill till marked, flip, grill till marked, eat.

Fruit is great when grilled, too. Most needs nothing but some time on the grates.

Pineapple: core, slice, grill on both sides just until the grill marks form.

Peaches: cut in half perpendicular to the stem, not through it. (i.e.: around the circumference of the fruit.) Hold the pit and twist to remove it from whichever half in which it remains. Place the cut face on the grill and let it get grill marks. Allow it to go a bit beyond that. Try topping with a reduction of port wine with a bit of brown sugar added ... or some balsamico reduced by half with added brown sugar and some butter. You can do the same with apricots and nectarines ... plums are probably too watery to grill.

Melons (yes! melons!): Use firm melons, not mushy or watery ones. Wedge them and grill lightly (grill marks juuuuuust starting to form).

Let your imagination run free. Generally, if you can cook it, you can grill it ... within reason. Peas, for example, might be harder to do unless you have a reeeeeeeally fine grilling grate. :)

[wildeyed]

7. OK, bookmarked this thread.

Sometimes I just get too tired to really concentrate on learning new stuff. But this weekend, I will get hubby to watch the kids for a few so I can concentrate on this.

The grilled fruit sounds fabulous.

[Warpy]

3. Well, even in hot weather you'll get sick of cold food

I remember my mother leaning heavily on Mother Campbell during the summer, that plus my father's grilling ritual. I never liked meat, so they'd dine on steak while I was thrilled with chicken noodle soup. She was also fond of Chef Boy-Ar-Dee boxed spaghetti dinners. It was kid food, so I never objected.

I also remember Sunday dinners of oven fried chicken (roll chicken in seasoned flour, brown quickly on top of the stove, then put the pan into the oven to bake for about half an hour). It kept her from standing over a hot stove even though the oven heated the kitchen up nicely.

[eleny]

4. Chilled soups?

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

5. this is spendy

but you deserve it with your a/c going out. Also, the money you're saving in electricity you can spend on the meal. :)

best

Grilled Beef Tenderloin & Blue Cheese Salad
Serves 4
Vinaigrette
1 shallot, minced
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 tbs chopped fresh chives
1 tbs chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Make vinaigrette; put first 4 ingredients in small bowl. Add oil & whisk. Season w/salt & pepper

12 oz beef tenderloin
8 cups baby spinach, cleaned
1 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese

Grill beef over medium hot. Season w/salt & pepper. Grill 4 to 5 minutes per side. Cool. Dice into 1/2 inch pieces. Toss w/3 tbs of vinaigrette. Salt & pepper

Toss spinach w/half the remaining vinaigrette & half the blue cheese. Salt & pepper.
Place some spinach in center of each plate. Arrange beef & rest of cheese on plate & drizzle w/remaining vinaigrette around plate. Top w/pepper

Notes: for a richer more intensely flavored vinaigrette, substitute balsamic vinegar for lemon juice & omit parsley.

[wildeyed]

8. Mmmmmmm!

I could probably use a cheaper cut of meat, maybe marinate it, to save on the cost. I just got the estimate for replacing the unit :o Suffice to say, we will be on a budget for a while.

[NMDemDist2]

9. oh wild, that stinks! I am the queen of cool meals

here are a few of my fav's

Breakfast i.e. eggs, microwaved bacon and toast with sliced tomatoes or any kind of fruit

I also do just burgers or chicken (from the grill) with cottage cheese and tomato and avocado slices or a variation is the meat with sliced apples and cheddar slices. (also Costco sells some really good pre marinated chicken breasts that cook in the Microwave in 4 minutes-my fav is mesquite)

Use your grill to bake potatoes and then have a "stuffing bar" with cheese, sour cream, bacon bits, canned chili, litely steamed broccoli and whatever else you know would be a family favorite.

if you really want a "nice" meal, do my "famous" BBQ taters http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=236&topic_id=8410&mesg_id=8585 with meat, french rolls that have been buttered and wrapped in foil and heated on the grill and a salad (or one of H2S's yummy veggies)

You'll love that grill by the end of the week. another suggestion I have for you is take a small hand towel, get it wet and keep it around your neck to help keep you cool when you cook (I learned this when the hot flashes started LOL)

[politicat]

10. If you eat beef, then a you might like this....

It's a cousin of kibbeh (Armenian steak tartare) but I cook the beef to rare. It's a good way to use leftover grilled beef or it also works with deli roast beef. Needless to say, use only beef from sources you trust with your life and that have been kept in sanitary conditions. As it happens, we find that we can also form balls or patties with this mix and kebob them; when we do that we add a bit more olive oil.

1/2 pound rare, cold beef or lamb
scant 1/4 c very good olive oil
scant 1/4 c bulgar wheat and 1/4 water, as needed (up to 1/2 cup)
medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 bunch fresh mint leaves or 1 teaspoon dried mint, lightly crushed (distant second choice!)
10-20 fresh basil leaves, chopped
fresh rosemary and oregano (dried work, but the fresh taste better)
paprika
1/8 c tamari
4-12 garlic cloves (depends on taste... we use about 6 for this recipe....)
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, more to taste, probably lots more
pita bread, tomatoes, tzhiki, romaine lettuce leaves, as accompaniments

Steep the wheat in the water until the water is absorbed and the wheat is soft.
Cube the beef. A few at a time, pulse in the food processor with the garlic until chopped coarsely. Do same with onions. Combine meat, onions, wheat, herbs and spices in a bowl. Add liquids. Form into a ball. Wrap in plastic and chill 2 hours.

Serve cold with accompaniments and salads - tabouli and fatouch go nicely.