Bulgogi For The Home Griller

The other night, I made some lamb bulgogi, a Korean dish that is easy, delicious, and makes for lots of leftovers that can be used in many ways! The night before I planned on making Lamb Bulgogi with Asian Pear Dipping Sauce, I prepped my leg of lamb by marinating it in soy sauce and mirin-based marinade which I made according to the linked recipe. It was simple to pull together and as long as you remember to do it the night before, you'll be good to go the next day for a quick and easy dinner.

When I came home the following day, I turned on the grill in the backyard, and left it to heat while I quickly pulled together the Asian Pear dipping sauce. I cooked the leg of lamb on the grill for about 15 minutes on each side, charring the outsides with some beautiful grill marks. Once the lamb was cooked to my satisfaction, I pulled it off to rest while I grilled up some scallions, jalapenos and garlic cloves to use as garnishes in our lettuce wraps full of bulgogi.

Look how perfectly that lamb is cooked! Yum! I separated a head of iceberg lettuce to use as wraps, because I couldn't find Butter Lettuce at the store this week. Butter lettuce definitely works better because it's not as crispy but this was alright in a pinch.

To finish off the meal, and round it out as well, I made some white rice while the lamb was cooking. It adds a little depth to the lettuce wraps and soaks up the delicious dipping sauce really well. Since making the bulgogi, which is a fun little adventure for a week day meal, and wonderful for entertaining, we've had bulgogi hoagies (ha!) with the lamb, and the dipping sauce, and a little chili sauce, all grilled on a panini grill. The lamb is even delicious to munch on cold, straight out of the fridge. Try this one out, you'll have a fun and interesting meal in under an hour!

Share the Health! Popchips Holiday Giveaway

Think of a chip…that hasn’t been fried. Okay, got it? Now, think of a chip…that hasn’t been baked either. Can you think of any?

Enter…Popchips! A healthier, more delicious alternative to chips, and snacking as a whole! The process starts with potatoes, just plain potatoes, which are then added to a little heat and pressure…this makes each potato slice, well, “Pop!” There is no fake anything, this product is all-natural, and tasty to boot!

Popchips have no trans fat, no saturated fat, fewer calories and more chips per serving than other products on the market. And, believe it or not, they are even improving the product as we speak! By August 2012, Popchips will have an average of 30% less sodium than they have now (280mg). I love a company that is constantly improving upon a good thing, to make it even better for their consumers! These chips are even kosher and vegan-friendly!

That’s why I think this is a perfect time of year to talk to you about them! Now is the time of year when we go to parties, and host parties, and snack on all sorts of delicious treats made by friends and co-workers…but, to what end? We only realize after the holidays are over that there are a few extra pounds we now have to shed at the gym. But, what if there was a snack that you could bring to a party, that was delicious, and fun…but also, guilt-free?! No one has to KNOW they are guilt-free, because they don’t taste it, but you’ll feel better about snacking at a party with these on the table. Choose between Original, BBQ, Sour Cream & Onion, Cheddar, Sea Salt & Vinegar, Salt & Pepper, Parmesan & Garlic, Jalapeno and Chili Lime. Yum!

Thankfully, I’ve made a few friends over at Popchips and they’ve offered to host a giveaway to one of my lucky readers, for a case of Popchips, in the flavor of their choice! All you have to do is comment on this post, telling us where you’ll be bringing Popchips this holiday season. Once I’ve chosen a winner (at random), I will post that here, and also send an email to the winner to get their full name and shipping address. (Unfortunately, this contest is limited to residents of the United States. Apologies to all of my international readers…I’ll organize something for you guys as soon as possible!)

There can only be one winner of this giveaway, but I am working hard to bring more and more contests to the site, and I’m really excited to get them going. So, leave your comment, and let us all know how you’ll use your case of Popchips this holiday season! One lucky reader will be enjoying them clear through to the new year! And the rest of you, you can all get them at your local grocery store chains. For specific locations, check here.

Pick up your Popchips, and … SHARE THE HEALTH!!!

Slightly All-American

The new menu is here! It's begun! Our trip around the world has commenced...and naturally, we are starting our journey in the United States. Where else would we start? ;) I'll be honest, I chose this menu partially because it's entitled "Slightly All-American," in A Platter of Figs, by David Tanis. I love these menus because they are always so well-tailored and they make sense in the timing department. Each component comes together naturally well, making it easy to do lots of things at once!

Aside from the name of this menu, the ingredients, and the final product, reminds me of a Fourth of July BBQ, and what could be more all-American than Independence Day! The introduction in the book talks of a woman named Josephine, a self-taught cook with a knack for making simple, delicious food. Her response when complimented is always, "It's nothing fancy. I'm just a salt and pepper cook." And really, that's the only seasoning that I used while cooking today. The flavors are simple, yet bold, and it made for a delicious and hearty meal!

Sliced Tomatoes with Sea Salt: I bought some heirloom tomatoes at Whole Foods today. I made sure to get different species so that the colors would pop on the platter. One purple, one green, and one yellow...it's just the prettiest combo to see sliced and on display. I sprinkled some basil ribbons, chopped parsley and chives on top, and just before serving, a dash of Tuscan Sea Salt...a gift from my dear friend Heidi. It was simple, refreshing, and really just epitomized the late summer season for me.

Grilled Chicken Breasts: I made four chicken breasts so that we'd have some leftovers for tomorrow. I cleaned them of their fat and chewy tendons, and placed them between two sheets of plastic wrap to pound them down a little bit. Remember what I told you? An even piece of chicken will cook a lot better than an uneven one. I drizzled the chicken with olive oil and then sprinkled it with ... you guessed it ... salt and pepper! I also chopped up some rosemary and sprinkled that on both sides as well. I allowed them to sit at room temperature for a bit while I prepared the other components of the meal, but once it was time to grill, I placed them in a grill pan for 6 minutes on one side, and about 3 minutes more on the other. They were perfectly cooked and juicy as all get out!

Corn, Squash, and Beans with Jalapeno Butter: While the chicken was resting before grilling, I prepared this vegetable dish. There was a bit more prep involved in this one since I had to cut the kernels off ears of corn, dice some zucchini, summer squash, green beans and onions, make some garlic paste and also create the jalapeno butter, but it was totally worth it. After cooking the onions for a few minutes, and then cooking them a few more minutes with the rest of the veggies, I transferred the mixture to a bowl and tossed it with the jalapeno butter (consisting of butter, minced jalapeno, lime zest and juice, salt and pepper).

Blueberry-Blackberry Crumble: Finally, while we enjoyed this delicious all-American meal, my oven was quietly cooking a delicious dessert for us to enjoy later on in the evening. This crumble was totally simple to assemble, consisting only of blackberries, blueberries, brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon. The syrupy berry goodness that was hidden only by some browned crumbly topping was deliciously sweet and tart at the same time. My only wish is that I had bought vanilla ice cream at the store today!

To me, the ingredients that I used tonight are very American ingredients. Heirloom tomatoes, mixed berries, and fresh ears of corn are all things that I can buy at local farmer's markets, items that are always readily available to us. Nothing on this list of ingredients was difficult to find, nor was anything foreign to our everyday cooking practices. American cooking, in general, is a hodge podge of mixed cuisines, due to the fact that America itself is a melting pot of different ethnicities. I love that we can find so many different types of food on our continent, and that even something as all-American as grilled chicken with some vegetable sides incorporate ingredients such as jalapenos, an ingredient more widely used in other cuisines. But now it's time to see what's going on in other corners of the world! What do they have that we don't? What spices should be more readily accesible in our stores? What techniques can we learn from other cultures?

Here we go! :)