Coaching Cooking

Fridays are great entertaining days because it’s a chance to have a casual dinner with friends or family.

BBQ Friday Menu:

Mini quiches (try some quick frozen ones from Trader Joe’s or Costco or your local market)
Fresh fruit
Beer and soda

Barbecued burgers on brioche buns
A platter with lettuce, sliced onion, sliced tomato, sliced pickles and condiments (ketchup, mustard, mayo)
Oven-roasted potatoes (see recipe below)
Grilled corn (see recipe below)

Notes: Prepare the barbecue and cook the burgers first. Then add the corn on the cob just as the burgers are finished cooking. Roast the potatoes about 45 minutes to an hour before cooking the burgers so everything finishes cooking together.

Oven-Roasted Potatoes
These potatoes are a great alternative to french fries. The garlic adds a lot of flavor and parsley also adds some nice color (although parsley is optional…you can also try adding some flavorful herbs like fresh thyme or rosemary)

Ingredients:

About 6-8 medium-size potatoes
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3-4 tablespoons of olive oil or canola oil
5-6 sprigs of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare the potatoes, onions and garlic. Mix these three ingredients together with the olive oil, salt and pepper in a roasting pan. Cook the potatoes in the oven for about 45 minutes (mix the potatoes about halfway through cooking so the flavors blend and the potatoes cook evenly). Test the potatoes with a knife to see if they are tender. If they are not ready yet continue to roast the potatoes for 15-20 minutes more. Then, switch the oven temperature to high broil and broil the potatoes for about 10 to 15 minutes until the outsides are crispy and lightly browned.

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Ingredients:

4 large ears of corn, silk and husks removed and corn cobs split in half
salt to taste
3-4 tablespoons of butter
aluminum foil

Clean the corn cobs and split each one in half. Tear off eight medium pieces of foil and place a half corn cob in the center of each one. Sprinkle salt over each corn cob piece and add a half tablespoon of butter to each foil square. Bring the corners of each aluminum foil piece up and twist together, sealing each corn cob in its foil packet. Barbecue the corn cobs on the grill for about 20-30 minutes until the corn is cooked thoroughly and lightly browned. Serve immediately and pass around more butter if needed.

Our barbecue was a great success. We ate deliciously grilled burgers with buttery brioche buns and sharp, aged white cheddar (plus all the fixins!). Our only casualty was a large bottle of raspberry beer that was left by me in the freezer. Beer pops, anyone?