Quick and Easy Sausage Kebabs

Ingredients:

• Pork/Beef/Chicken or any kind of Sausage (Bock-wurst would be good)
• BBQ Skewers
• Tomatoes
• Soy Sauce
• Treacle

Method:

I used a shortcut to make these. but if you have all the time in the world you can grill your way through it all!

Soak the skewers for at least couple of hours before you start and thaw the sausages to room temperature.

Mix the soy sauce and treacle in to a combined solution. 

Cut each sausage in to four chunks (if they are big enough to chop). Lightly fry the chunks in butter mixed with a glug of olive oil. Chop the tomatoes into chinks as well. Alternate the chunks of sausage with the tomato chunks on the skewers. Set them on the coals burning on low heat and generously anoint the kebabs with the treacle and soy sauce mixture. When the sausages swell in size and the tomatoes get their beautiful burnt colour take them off the heat they are ready to be munched on! 

Quick and Easy BBQ Chicken

Marinade Ingredients:

• Stirred Yogurt
• Pepper
• Salt
• Mustard Powder
• Coriander Leaves  
• Chillie Powder 
• Worcestershire Sauce

Glaze Ingredients (1):

• Margarine/Butter
• Lemon/Limes

Glaze Ingredients (2):

• Coconut Treacle  
• Brandy  (Ritz)

Method:

The choice of cut for this or any BBQ chicken in my opinion would be back quarters. the reason being that meat on the bone tastes and feels good and also helps the chicken to stay moist. and make sure to buy it with the skin intact unless you have a medical reason to avoid the skin.

Wash the chicken and let it drain. Pat the meat dry with tissues. this is an essential step as it will make the chicken drink up the marinade more eagerly and will also not dilute the marinade before it can cure the meat.

Mix all the marinade ingredients together except the leaves in a large bowl. the quantities should be determined by your palette. However the base of the marinade is the yogurt as I wanted the end product to be tender and succulent.  yogurt cures as well as conditions the meat and makes a excellent medium for the chicken to dwell in while easing the marinade in to the back quarters. Leave the chicken to season overnight.and turn the chicken over in the marinading container twice at minimum.

Prepare the two glazes prior to starting the coals. Heat the butter/margarine and once the butter is fully melted add the lemon or lime. A bit of extra citrus is fine to go by since the marinade lacks any sourness to it. And hence this glaze counters the other flavors on the fly.

Add the treacle to a separate heat proof container and heat it in a bath of hot water. Once the treacle is warmed to a considerable amount (do not heat it in direct heat nor boil it) add the brandy. Again the amounts should be justified by the preference of taste. This is the marinade which would make the meat look good and will add that special touch of stickiness and richness to the meat. Additionally it will also give the skin around the meat a sweet tartness which i found to be quite mind-blowing.

Start the coals and make sure that there are no actual flames rising out of the coals. Place the meat on the grid in batches. Glazing should be started with the butter-lemon and should be finished with the treacle mixture.

It is also vitally important to rest the meat a long as they have been cooked to allow the meat to absorb the juices and the glaze in to the core of the meat. Yes, cold meat tastes better than burning hot chunks of meat! Do not follow the trend!

Easy, Zesty Potato Egg Salad

Easy, Zesty Potato Egg Salad

Potatoes and eggs always go well together. The tartness of the potatoes combined with the creaminess of the eggs creates an excellent base to build on as far as a salad goes. And whats more!? you ca customize this salad limited only by your imagination.

This recipe is a perfect dish to have alongside a BBQ. The meat of the BBQ, the salad and plenty of fruit juice or punch makes a hearty meal.

I'm going to describe a moderately customized version of this recipe. However as mentioned earlier feel free to let your imagination run wild with this dish!

Ingredients:

• Potatoes - Boiled, peeled and chopped in to cubes. do not get them mashed up.
• Eggs - Hard boiled and shelled.
• Onions - Peeled and chopped in to cubes.
• Green Chilies -  Finely chopped.
• Peanuts - Fried in oil.
• Bread - Use regular sandwich bread.
• Bacon - Fried and crisped.
• Lemon Peel - A fruit of lemon basically. Let's peel it later.
• Dry Thyme.
• Pepper and Salt.
• Mayonnaise.
• Butter. 
• Olive oil.

Method:
Chop the eggs in to cubes. Combine the potatoes, eggs green chilies, bacon, onions, dry thyme, peanuts and the mayonnaise together in a mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper and give it a good mix taking care to leave the chunks of potatoes and eggs intact as much as possible. Place in a refrigerator until you are ready to combine the salad.

Grab a few slices of bread and cut them in to squares (approximately half an inch on each side). Heat a shallow pan and heat some butter and olive oil. Once the oil mixture is heated up add the bread squares in batches and fry them until golden brown and crispy. Drain the excess oil on paper towels.

Once the stomachs are ready for the salad combine the dish by mixing the salad in the fridge with the fried bread squares. Grate a lemon's zest (or more depending on the quantity) on top of the salad. Serve with the BBQ meat and feel the pleasures of life!

Hasselback Potatoes

Hasselback Potatoes 

I'm personally a very carnivorous human and I don't vote much for veges. But as mentioned by master chef Mr. Gordon Ramsey, vegetables can be far more rewarding than can be imagined if they are treated with some respect and given some attitude. This is one recipe that proved this concept to me.
The Hasselbacks are very easy to knock up and like my style of recipes are very versatile in preparation. All you need are some peeled potatoes, some melted butter, salt, pepper, an oven , a baking tray lined with baking paper and last but not the least your imagination!

The given quantities of the ingredients are not exact. Hence please feel free to adjust them to tantalize your pallet. 

Ingredients:

• Potatoes - They should not be too large and should be somewhat round in shape
• Melted Butter - About 3 Table Spoons
• Salt
• Pepper - Freshly ground in to flakes and not in to dust! 
• Cheddar Cheese - Grated, about a teaspoon per potato. This can be alternated with grated Parmesan as well 
• Sour Cream - About one teaspoon per potato. 
• Dried Oregano - Roughly 2 teaspoons

Method:

Peel the potatoes and submerge them in cold water until you start chopping them up. This will avoid them from going brown. Once peeled, get your chopping board out and lay two skewers parallel to each other on the board. you should be able to place a potato between the two skewers.

Now place a potato between the skewers  and chop them making sure that the slices stay connected at the bottom. The skewers can easily be substituted with butter knives etc once you get the concept.

Once the chopping is done place each potato on the  baking tray lined with baking paper with the chopped side up. At this point they will not look impressive at all. But wait! They are just getting started!!

Now brush each potato with the melted butter using a pastry brush or alike. Preheat the oven to 200 Celsius and place the baking tray in it. The cooking process it a three stage process with approximately 15 minutes spent on each stage.

Stage 1 (First 15  minutes elapsed) - Take the tray out of the oven and brush the potatoes with some of the remaining melted butter. Dust with some salt and pepper flakes and return to the oven.

Stage 2 (Second slot of 15 minutes elapsed) - Take the tray out once again and brush them with the remaining melted butter. Return to the oven.

Stage 3 (Third slot of 15 minutes elapsed) - Now comes the interesting part! Take the tray out of the oven and brush them with sour cream mixed with oregano. Sprinkle with some of the cheese of your choice and return to the oven for the final round or cooking. Leave them for 15 minutes more or until the potatoes are crisp on top and are soft inside.

Once the cooking is done take the potatoes out and let them cool on a metal rack briefly before dishing them out. The little creamy delights must be served warm as much as possible.

These little babies go very well with some baked or fried chicken, beef or pork and some of the cooking juices of the meat drizzled on them.

Easy dinner recipe.... done!