Summer grilling recipe ideas

Summer Grilling Ideas
By: Chef Cristian Feher
www.tampabaychef.com

 The mercury is rising, the birds are chirping and the sun is out. It’s time to dust off the old grill and do some therapeutic grilling.

How is grilling therapeutic? Think about it; you’re outdoors breathing in fresh, non-recirculated-unconditioned-air. The sun is turning your skin into a vitamin-D-producing laboratory. That burst of flame that shoots up at your face while you’re in there wondering why it won’t light - that’s exfoliating your skin! The charred bits of flavor leftover from your previous fiery feasts - they make you stronger, because according to the old adage, they haven’t killed you. And if that isn’t enough, your grill will actually burn the fat that drips off your food, so your body doesn’t have to. Grilling is therapy for the face, stomach and soul.

Most people look at a grill as just a grill. But did you realize that it’s also an oven (if it has a lid),  and a stove? Your grill is basically a full outdoor kitchen with which you can do a lot more than burgers and steaks. Below are a few ideas that may tickle your grilling-bone this summer.

Grill Your Lettuce!
If you’ve taken a personal chef cooking class with me in the past, chances are that you’re experienced the delight of a grilled romaine salad.  You have no idea how much flavor is hidden inside of a lettuce leaf until you put fire to it!

Cut the romaine lettuce in half, drizzle the cut side with good quality olive oil, and sear for a minute or three on a really hot grill (cut-side-down) until it begins to wilt and grill marks form. Chop it up, mix it with a garlic anchovy dressing, sprinkle with shaved Parmesan cheese, black pepper, and key lime juice for an unexpectedly flavorful Caesar salad.


Is it Steak or Pizza?
My friend Jorge made this for us in Argentina. It was one of my fondest food memories of that trip and it was insanely good - in fact, everything there was insanely good. The secret to Argentine cuisine is that they have not reinvented the mouse trap. What worked 100 years ago still works the same way today. And that antiquity in agricultural methods, farming, butchering, and cooking just happens to make every dish special, amazing, fresh and revitalizing. It’s real food.

A smoky charcoal fire. A large grass-fed sirloin steak rubbed with kosher salt and black pepper sizzles on the grill. It’s called Steak Pizzaiola. When the steak is a few minutes from perfection, you top it with a simple tomato and oregano sauce, oily sundried tomatoes, roasted red pepper strips, and sliced buffalo mozzarella. Let the cheese bubble and melt, move the steak onto a wooden board and have the lucky participants serve each other slices of this sublime dish. Fresh bread to sop up the juices left on the board? I will cut anyone who gets in my way...


You Make Your Paella in the Oven?
A paella is a traditional dish from Spain. Rice is cooked in a saffron-infused broth with your choice of meats and vegetables - the most popular being seafood, onions, peppers, capers and peas - over a coal fire in a cast iron pan called a Paellera. The unfortunate thing is that few people make it this way in North America. Most cook it on the stovetop or in the oven.

For a real Spanish paella, get a cast iron skillet, put it on a hot grill, cook your ingredients, add the rice and saffron and slowly add the stock while cooking the dish over a smoky charcoal grill, or a gas grill with some wet wood chips inside. Trust me, the smoke and cast iron make a big difference. And if you haven’t quite mastered making a paella, just hire a personal chef to teach you how ;)


Slap Some Hershey’s on the Grill!
It could be that I’m a caveman at heart, but I love to make chocolate cake on the grill. I suppose it could be an acquired taste for some, and if you think that’s you, start off by using your gas grill which should only impart a hint of smoke (as compared to a very smoky charcoal grill).  This adds a rustic undertone that makes me feel happy.

Combine 1-3/4 cups of flour, 1-3/4 cups of sugar, 3/4 cup of Hershey’s cocoa powder, 1-1/2 tsp of baking soda, 1 tsp of salt, 2/3 cup of soft butter, 16oz sour cream, 2 eggs, 1 tsp or vanilla extract. Mix it all together, put in a cake pan and stick it in the grill - if you can turn the burner off underneath the cake, good, if not - turn it down to low and close the lid. Bake for 30-45 mins, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm with a big scoop of chocolate or coconut ice cream!

If you have your own creative recipes for the grill, I would love to hear about them! You can email me at tampabaychef@gmail.com. Happy grilling everyone!

How to make your own dog food: Recipe 3

Pasta Carbonara for Dogs
By: Chef Cristian Feher
www.mealsfordogs.com

Doggie Pasta Carbonara!

We all love Italian food and your dog is no exception. This dish was enjoyed most sumptuously by my grandparent’s Great Dane, Dutchess! You can substitute the regular wheat pasta with Tinkayada brown rice pasta if your dog has gluten allergies.

Normally, you should feed your dog 2% of its body weight per day. That figure should help you plan how much food to make your dog. 

Ingredients:
- 4 cups of pasta (cooked)
- 1 cup of chopped kale (raw)
- 1 cup of chopped carrots (raw)
- 1 clove of garlic minced
- 2 cups of cooked ground meat (beef, chicken, lamb, turkey)
- 2 eggs
- 2 strips of nitrate-free applewood smoked organic bacon
- 1/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
- A pinch of sea salt

Instructions:

1. Cook the pasta and set aside. You will serve at room temperature.

2. Cook the bacon crispy, cool, and chop into bits.

3. Chop the kale and carrots with a knife or food processor.

4. Mince the garlic.

5. Mix all ingredients in a bowl with two raw eggs, and add a pinch of salt. Your dog will love this. And if they don’t.. you will!

How to make organic dog food: Recipe 2

Frosted Mutt Muffins and Doggie Donuts Recipe
By: Chef Cristian Feher
www.mealsfordogs.com

Mutt Muffins for Dogs!

This is a variation of the Mutt Loaf recipe which you can see by clicking HERE.

These are a special treats for your special pet! You can bake them into cupcakes, or even shape them like donuts, or make the mixture into a birthday cake for Pooch! The possibilities are endless.

Doggie Donuts with Peanut Butter Bacon Icing!

Once you finish baking your mutt loaf into any shape you like - as in this recipe where you will scoop the meat mix into a muffin pan and bake at 375 for 40 minutes - you can frost it with one of my favorite toppings below:


Teriyaki Peanut Butter Frosting with Sesame Seeds
Yields: 1 cup of frosting

Ingredients:
- 1 cup of smooth organic peanut butter
- 1 tbsp of organic teriyaki sauce
- sesame seeds for garnish

Instructions:

1. Mix the peanut butter with the teriyaki sauce.

2. Spread onto mutt muffins and sprinkle with sesame seeds.



Greek Yogurt and Bacon Bits
Yields: 1 cup of frosting

Ingredients:
- 1 cup of strained Greek yogurt
- 4 strips of organic applewood smoked bacon (nitrate free)

Instructions:

1. Cook the bacon until crispy. Let it cool. Chop into bits with a chef knife or food processor.

2. Mix with Greek yogurt.

3. Spread over mutt muffins.

How to make organic dog food: Recipe 1

Chef Cristian’s Mutt-Loaf Recipe
By: Chef Cristian Feher
www.mealsfordogs.com

Forget about the hot dog factory, and think about an even more “interesting” place - the dog food factory. Dog food is usually made with ingredients that are not fit for human consumption - they’re cheap, and they are usually by-products other businesses don’t want. There is very little enforcement over what goes into commercial dog food, and it’s often loaded with chemicals, preservatives, and traces of antibiotics, growth hormones, drugs, and whatever else may have been part of the carcases used to produce the meat “by-products” that make up the bulk of commercial dog food. It’s no wonder our pets are so allergic, diseased and live such short lifespans.

Bluntly speaking, a body is constructed out of the food it eats. Put in healthy food, and you get a healthy body. Put in junk, and you get junk.

My dog food is made with all-natural and organic ingredients that are not only fit for human consumption, but are full of clean protein, vitamins, minerals, healthy oils and vegetable fibers. This is a simple way to help your dog live a long, healthy, happy life.

Ingredients:
- 3 Lbs organic or all-natural ground beef, turkey, chicken, or lamb
- 4 cups organic or regular brown rice (cooked)
- 3 organic eggs
- 3 cups Chopped organic raw kale
- 6 chopped organic raw carrots
- 3-4 cloves of garlic
- 2 tbsp Flax seeds
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- Flavoring: 1/2 cup of Non-alcoholic beer, or 4 tbsp organic teriyaki sauce, or 1/2 cup malta beverage or a couple of drops of liquid smoke.
- A pinch of sea salt

Instructions:

NOTE: Remember that your dog's senses of smell and taste are very keen. So you won’t be flavoring this as if you’re making it for yourself, you want to cut back on the seasoning. This means very little salt and only a little flavoring agent.

1. Mix the ground meat with the eggs, rice, kale, carrots, flax seed and yogurt. For even better nutrition, keep half the carrots, and half the chopped kale raw in the fridge, and sprinkle on the dog food when serving.

2. Mix in the flavoring agent of choice. In my experience, malta and beer are liked best!

3. Put into a meatloaf pan (or shape it how you like) and bake it at 375 until cooked through (about 30-40 mins)

4. Let it cool and refrigerate it overnight. Serve it cold or just slightly luke warm. Not hot. It has been our experience that hot food makes the dogs have to urinate.