Grilled Steak and Spring Vegetable Salad

By Paul Briand

Spring is here, though you wouldn’t know it from the very unseasonal spring we’ve been having here in northern New England.

But the idea of outdoor grilling was too much of a draw with this recipe, despite the rain and cool temperatures.

This salad of steak and spring vegetables comes via the Associated Press.

Everything goes on the grill -- the sirloin steak (of course) plus the asparagus and artichoke hearts, even the grape tomatoes if you wish. Not so the lettuce.

And the dressing is a light combination of lemon juice and olive oil infused with some Parmesan cheese to smooth it out.

Ingredients

For the dressing:

5 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon salt

Ground black pepper, to taste

For the salad:

1 pound sirloin steak, 1- to 1 1/4-inches thick, trimmed of fat

1/2 teaspoon salt

Ground black pepper, to taste

1 pound asparagus, bottoms trimmed

14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained

1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

4 cups arugula

Shaved Parmesan cheese, to garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Heat a gas grill to high or light a charcoal fire;

2. For the dressing, in a blender combine the lemon juice, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Blend until emulsified. Set aside;

3. Season the steak on both sides with the salt and pepper;

4. Grill the steak, about 5 minutes per side for medium rare, 6 minutes per side for medium. Remove and let rest on a cutting board for 5 minutes;

5. Meanwhile, grill the asparagus and artichoke hearts, turning occasionally, until slightly charred and the asparagus spears are tender-crisp, about 5 minutes;

6. Remove from the grill and cut the asparagus into 2-inch pieces and the artichoke hearts in half;

7. Place the vegetables in a large bowl with the cherry tomatoes (as an option, grill the tomatoes until they soften);

8. Thinly slice the steak across the grain and add to the bowl with the asparagus and artichoke hearts. Toss with half of the dressing;

9. In a large salad bowl, toss the arugula with the remaining dressing;

10. To plate the salad, place some of the arugula on each serving plate and arrange the grilled steak and vegetables on top. Garnish with shaved Parmesan cheese, if desired.

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Baked Sweet Potato Fries

By Paul Briand

My wife Jane and I love sweet potatoes and all the culinary creations that come from them.

For Thanksgiving dinner, for example, my wife makes a sweet potato puff that is a family favorite. (Note to self: Let’s get this recipe published in time for Thanksgiving 2011.)

We’re also very big fans of sweet potato fries. As we try to eat with our health and weight in mind, they are a favored alternative to regular potato fries when we eat out.

A sweet potato, cooked and baked in its skin with no salt, is low in sodium, and very low in saturated fat and cholesterol. It is also a good source of dietary fiber, vitamin B6 and potassium, and a very good source of vitamin A, vitamin C and manganese. Read more here.

I do a variation of Baked Sweet Potato Fries at home that involves a coating of olive oil, black pepper and Old Bay seasoning. Old Bay, by the way, has a lot more uses than crab cakes.

The hardest part of homemade sweet potato fries is getting them to crisp up. To get there, I often will put them under a low broil in the oven for a couple of minutes after they’ve baked.

Here is another variation of sweet potato fries that I picked up from Food.com.

Given the brown sugar and the salt, these are a little higher in fat, sugar and sodium content.

Note: The amount of olive oil called for in this recipe -- ½ cup -- is way too much in my opinion. You can easily halve the amount and yield the same yummy results.

Ingredients

4 sweet potatoes, unpeeled and cut into wedges

¼ cup sage, fresh chopped (substitute 2 teaspoons if from your spice rack)

½ cup light brown sugar, packed

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees;

2. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, sage, brown sugar, and oil. Season with salt and pepper, and toss;

3. Spread on a baking sheet;

4. Bake for 40 minutes and serve immediately.

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Chicken Tikka Masala

By Paul Briand

This is said to be the most popular restaurant dish in the United Kingdom.

And this is a simple recipe, courtesy of the McCormick spice people, who packaged together all the spices needed for this dish as part of their Recipe Inspirations.

“Masala” means mixture of spices and that’s exactly what this is -- though I might use a bit of hyperbole and call it an explosion of spices.

The garam masala is a pungent mixture of spices, its origin in India.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon mixed garlic

1 teaspoon garam masala

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

2 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Melt butter in large nonstick skillet on medium heat;

2. Add chicken, onion and lemon juice; cook and stir 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink;

3. Add all of the spices (except red pepper) and cook and stir 1 minute;

4. Stir in tomatoes until well mixed;

5. Stir cream into cornstarch and salt until smooth. Gradually stir mixture into skillet;

6. Stir in red pepper to taste, if desired;

7. Bring to boil then reduce heat to low; stirring frequently, simmer 5 minutes or until slightly thickened;

8. Serve with cooked rice or naan bread, if desired.

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Ham Casserole

By Paul Briand

What to do with the leftover Easter ham? Well, my mother is taking care of the bone by making a split pea and ham soup. I doled out some leftovers to family, and I still had plenty for this casserole, adapted from a recipe titled (appropriately enough) End of the Line Ham Casserole on AllRecipes.com.

The AllRecipe version used a little parmesan cheese -- all of 2 tablespoons. I went all out with a package of low-fat Italian blend cheeses. Also, I topped mine with a handful of crumbled French Fried Onions that I had leftover from the breaded pork chops I made not too long ago.

Ingredients

1 can condensed cream of celery soup

1/2 cup milk

ground black pepper to taste

2 potatoes, sliced

1 onion, sliced

2 cups cooked ham, diced

1 7-ounce package of low-fat shredded Italian cheeses

¼ cup French Fried Onions, crumbled

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees;

2. In an 8x8 inch casserole dish, combine cream of celery soup with milk and a generous amount of pepper;

3. Layer the potato slices, then onion slices then ham on top;

4. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour;

5. Remove foil and sprinkle the cheese and crumbled French Fried Onions over the entire surface;

6. Bake uncovered for another 20 minutes or when cheese is bubbly, then let rest five minutes and serve.

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French Fried Onion-Crusted Pork Chops

By Paul Briand

You can bread pork chops in the usual fashion. How about including French Fried Onions as part of that breading? It creates a crunchy layer that has a burst of flavor, while keeping the pork moist.

This recipe can be used with other dishes where you might use bread crumbs -- chicken breasts, for example.

Ingredients

4 boneless pork chops

1 egg

¼ quarter cup of milk

½ cup Panko bread crumbs

½ cup of French Fried Onions, crumbled

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees;

2. Prepare egg wash in bowl by whisking egg with milk;

3. In large plate, mix the bread crumbs with the crumbled fried onions;

4. Take pork chop and dip both sides into egg wash;

5. Press one side of pork chop then the other into the bread crumbs and onions mixture;

6. Repeat with three other chops;

7. Place encrusted chops onto baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray;

8. Cook until the pork is no longer pink, about 35 - 40 minutes.

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Spinach & Avocado Salad

By Paul Briand

This is a great, simple little salad recipe that will bring the freshness of spring right to your taste buds.

It’s light and wonderfully refreshing with the vinaigrette that combines lemon juice, rice vinegar and olive oil.

The basis of this salad comes from a recipe I received with store coupons mailed to me by my favorite supermarket.

Ingredients

1 6 ounce package of spinach leaves

1 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled and sliced into bite-size pieces

1 cup of grape tomatoes, halved

¼ cup of slivered almonds

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Combine the spinach, avocado, tomatoes, and almonds into a large bowl;

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, garlic and lemon zest;

3. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until it is well combined;

4. Toss salad with vinaigrette and serve immediately.

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Lobster Mac & Cheese

By Paul Briand

If you’re looking for a fish recipe for no-meat Fridays during Lent -- and you’re willing to fork over a few bucks -- here’s sinfully rich dish that combines lobster meat with very cheesy macaroni and cheese.

Fresh lobster meat -- picked from a cooked lobster -- isn’t cheap, but it’s oh so good when lightly sauted in butter and lemon then folded into a cheese sauce that combines Parmesan and Monterey Jack and is topped with sharp cheddar.

Ingredients

1 pound box of Rotoni macaroni

3 heaping tablespoons flour

8 tablespoons of butter, divided

3 cups of whole milk

7 ounce package of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

7 ounce package of shredded Monterey Jack cheese

7 ounce package of shredded Parmesan cheese

2/3 to 1 pound of fresh lobster meat

Old Bay seasoning

Lemon juice

Panko bread crumbs

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees;

2. Cook the Rotoni according to the directions on the box, drain, set aside;

3. In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter and stir in enough flour to make a roux;

4. Add milk slowly to the roux, constantly stirring;

5. Reduce heat and add the Monterey Jack and Parmesan cheese, continuing to stir;

6. When cheese has fully melted, remove pan from heat;

7. In separate small saute pan over medium high heat, melt remaining butter then lightly saute lobster meat then spritz with a dash of lemon juice;

8. Return cheese skillet to the heat and fold the lobster fully into the mixture;

9. Add a generous palmful of Old Bay;

10. In large bowl, pour the drained Rotoni and mix in the lobster and cheese mixture;

11. Pour entire mixture into a large casserole dish, top with cheddar cheese;

12. Cook for 20 minutes, remove from oven and sprinkle bread crumbs (half a cup or so) then cook another 10 minutes;

13. Remove from oven, let sit about 5 minutes then serve in generous slices.

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