soul food

How does the old saying go?
The way to a man's heart is through his...oh right...his stomach.
This especially applies to big daddy.
Since the poor guy rarely gets any action these days, the least I can do is keep on cooking him some good food.
I love trying out new recipes, especially during the summer barbeque season.
I've actually had a few keeper's over the past couple of weeks, that I thought I might share.
One of big daddy's favourites (and most of north America's for that matter) is a good ol' burger.
I like to add a few twists here and there, and toss it up a bit.
This one is a Feta cheese lamb burger with a side of Greek-style beans and peperoncini peppers.
The burger was pretty good, but the beans were excellent (if I do say so myself)
A nice starter would be some dolmades, roasted red peppers, taziki, and Greek olives.


This one was really great, and super easy to make.
Rosemary & Orange Pork Tenderloin with grilled Broccolini and Goat Cheese Polenta.
It was extra good because I used smoker chips on the bbq, and I marinated the pork for a few hours, which always helps with adding extra flavour.
yum.
It would be really nice with a little fennel, orange and black olive salad to start and a nice crisp Italian white wine.


Okay this one is so perfect for a hot summer night.
spicy and super tasty, yet very refreshing.
Home-made Jerk Chicken with a watermelon, cucumber & lime salad.
Once again those smoker chips helped alot with the flavour, not to mention made the entire neighbourhood smell amazing.
This would be great with some cold Red Stripe beer or some ice cold Mojitos.


A couple of nights a week, we try to go vegetarian.
One of my new favourite cheeses is Haloumi, a hard sheeps milk cheese perfect for frying or grilling.
It used to be tricky to find and I would get so frustrated as I kept coming across so many recipes (mostly from Australian mags and cookbooks) that called for it.
But I happened to notice that Loblaws is now carrying it.
Though I think they are calling it Haloom cheese.
Anyhow it's really fantastic, and this salad was perfect with grilled local asparagus, chickpeas, roasted red peppers and a fresh basil dressing.
It might not look pretty, but it was pretty nice to eat.
I think it would be great with a nice dry local Riesling.


Last but not least the week wouldn't be complete without one of my favourite types of food.
Asian.
These pork (or chicken) satays are a bit of a combo of Chinese (hoisin sauce), Thai (chilli garlic sauce) and Japanese (rice wine vinegar) they were fantastic with my version of sticky rice & peas, and a spicy cucumber salad.
It would be great with some store bought Kimchee to start and some saki, or even a light red wine like a pinot, or hell even some cold Sopporo beer would be great.
It might also be nice followed by some Lychee or green tea ice cream for dessert.


there you have it, from my barbecue to yours.
happy grilling and happy weekend!