Singing: "
Oh the weather outside is beautiful and the sun is so delightful." Here in the Southwest of Arizona spring has sprung. We've been in the upper 70's and as high as 92. Focusing on such beautiful weather our grill has been uncovered and raring to go. We celebrate anytime our grill is fired up, it's our favorite way to 'eat out'. The grill a grillin' and sitting outside a eatin', especially with family and friends.
One of our first grilling expeditions of course had Tastefully Simple involved that swept us off our feet. There were potato packets, wild rice bratwurst basting in the glory with
Burger and Brat Mustard, of course, along with some gorgeous marinated veggies.
I think you will love this as much as we did.
Jamie,
Your TS Consultant
Potato Packets
Preheat the grill. Scrub the potatoes well; slice them about ¼-inch
thick, keeping the slices close together as you cut so that you can kind
of “fan” them out (see photo for details). Transfer each potato to a
piece of heavy-duty foil or a double sheet of regular foil. Cut the
bacon in half crosswise; lay a strip over the top of each fanned-out
potato. Top with
Onion Onion (I’d say about 1 tsp. for a medium baker),
Seasoned Salt and a few shakes of
Italian Garlic Bread Seasoning.
Seal the whole thing up in the foil and place it on the top rack of
your grill. The key here is “low and slow” – I made these first and got
them on my grill before I prepared anything else. I rotated them about
every 15 minutes for about an hour.
Marinated Veggies
The amounts here are extremely flexible, depending on how many you
are serving, how much you like grilled veggies, how hungry you are, etc.
I’ll give you a basic guide, but this particular recipe is pretty much
gonna work no matter what or how much you have in it.
4 cups assorted veggies, cut into chunks
- I used bell peppers and mushrooms this time, but I’ve also made it
with broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus (yum!), parboiled potatoes and/or
carrots, onions, eggplant, Brussels sprouts … practically any veggie
will work.
2-4 Tbsp
. Balsamic & Basil Dipping Oil
- Start with 2 Tbsp., then stir everything up and see how it looks.
You want a light coating of oil on pretty much everything. Some
veggies, like broccoli and cauliflower, have nooks and crannies, so it
takes a little more oil to get that nice coating. Honestly, you can just
eyeball it.
Scant tsp.
Seasoned Salt or to taste
Place veggies in a shallow pan. Drizzle with
Balsamic & Basil Dipping Oil Gently toss the veggies to coat; add a little more oil if you need to. Add the
Seasoned Salt and stir again. Let marinate for 10 minutes to an hour, stirring a few
times so the veggies get good and marinated and the oil doesn’t all stay
on the bottom of the pan. Grill in a mesh basket over direct heat a
little hotter than low. Let the veggies get nice and browned before you
flip them. (Our grill is small, so we did this in two batches.) Cook
until the veggies are browned to your liking and tender.
Potato Packets & Marinated Veggies
Testing Notes
For the Potato Packets:
- Preheat the grill while you prep these, and don’t prep them early as
the potatoes will discolor (quite unattractively … trust me on this
one).
- Try not to cut them too thick, or the cook time will increase and you risk burning the bacon.
- I usually add a very light sprinkling of salt, because I have been
known to get a bit heavy handed and over salt them. Remember that bacon
and Onion Onion both contain salt.
- Remember, the secret to success is cooking them “low and slow”… and
remember to turn them at least a couple of times, or again, you risk
burning the bacon.
- This is one of my family’s favorite things in the whole wide world. We have made them many, many times.
For the Marinated Veggies:
- If you like mushrooms, I highly recommend that you include them in
your mix … mushrooms are divine when grilled in this marinade. Oh, my
stars.
- I cut the veggies in chunks, usually 1-1½ inches. Otherwise it’s
difficult to manage them on the grill. I cut denser veggies such as
broccoli and cauliflower thin, but not in tiny pieces. Remember that
everything will shrink a little on the grill.
- The reason you coat the veggies with the oil first and then add the
salt is that the salt will distribute more evenly if the veggies are
oiled first.
- Honestly, there is not much more to say. This recipe is so easy and
delicious! It’s another family favorite that we make all summer long.
Happy Grillin'
Jamie, Your TS Consultant
www.tastefullysimple.com/web/jvolner
