Peanut Butter and Banana Pie

Peanut Butter and Banana Pie

(makes 2 pies)

2 chocolate cookie crumb pie shells

One and one-half cups brown sugar

8 oz. Cream cheese

1 cup good peanut butter (you chose, smooth or crunchy)

1 tsp. vanilla

1 large container (16oz.) cool whip

3 bananas

Prepared chocolate syrup

Extra cool whip and chopped peanuts for garnish, optional

Beat brown sugar, cream cheese, peanut butter and vanilla until well combined. Beat in half the cool whip, then fold in the remaining cool whip.

Slice bananas, and divide equally between pie shells, covering the bottoms.

Pour peanut butter mixture over bananas.

Drizzle with chocolate syrup.

Cover and freeze.

Remove from freezer and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Serve with extra cool whip and chopped peanuts as garnish (optional).

Kicked Up Italian Burgers

Italian Burgers

1 T extra virgin olive oil

1 sweet vidalia onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

One-half cup white wine

4 oz. Pepperoni, chopped

1 T dried Italian herbs

One-fourth cup chopped fresh parsley

2 lbs. ground round (85% lean)

One-half lb. Sweet Italian sausage

1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Pepper

3 T melted butter

8 slices provolone cheese

8 Kaiser rolls

Garnish with whole grain mustard, romaine lettuce, sliced Roma tomatoes, and thin slices red onion.

Add olive oil to medium sized sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté chopped onions for 4-5 minutes or until translucent and tender. Add garlic and cook for another minute, then the wine, stirring occasionally until completely reduced. Finally, add pepperoni, Italian herbs and chopped parsley, stir to combine, remove from heat and cool.

Meanwhile, with two forks combine ground round, Italian sausage, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. When onion mixture is cooled, add to meat, and with forks, gently mix.

Divide into eight hamburger patties. Refrigerate until ready to grill.

Prepare grill for medium direct heat. Place patties on grill and brush top side with melted butter. Cook for 3-4 minutes, turn and brush this side with butter. Continue to cook for 3-4 more minutes, or until desired doneness.

Brush cut sides of buns with remaining butter.

Remove burgers from grill, top with provolone cheese, cover and let rest for a few minutes while you grill the cut sides of the buns (1-2 minutes).

Remove buns from grill and add a burgers to each bun.

Dress with whole grain mustard, romaine lettuce, sliced Roma tomatoes, and thin slices of red onion.

Coconut Cupcakes with Lime Buttercream Frosting for the 4th!

Our July 4th in Beaufort is a homemade three day holiday. We have a two year tradition--I think two consecutive years counts as a tradition!

Webb, Maxie and Brady bring their Moms and Dads, we dress in our red, white and blue pirate attire (very patriotic pirates) and cheer for the tractors, fire engines, Bodacious Beaufort Babes, a few flag-sporting dogs, the big double decker red bus, some unidentified dignitaries, and the belly dancing Sea-quins. Lots of candy tossing and hurray-ing. Then off to the beach.

No Fourth would be complete without kicked up hamburgers on the grill. We followed with Coconut Cupcakes for dessert and a batch or two of Pain Killers, finishing just in time for fireworks.

There were Ouuuuuu's and Ahhhhhh's all around!

Can't wait until next year.

Coconut Cupcakes with Lime Buttercream Frosting

We found this recipe in Cooking Light magazine, and it's really delicious. The cupcakes are nice and moist, and the frosting has a great 'twang'. I had to go to a health food store to find the potato starch (and be sure it's starch, and not flour), but it's worth the trip!

Cupcakes:

1 cup all purpose flour (lightly spoon flour into measuring cup and level with knife)

3 T Potato Starch

1 tsp. Baking powder

One-half tsp. Salt

Three-fourths cup sugar

2 T butter, softened

1 large egg

1 large egg white

Two-thirds cup low fat milk

2 T sweet coconut (I added about twice as much.)

One-half tsp. Vanilla (a little extra vanilla, too)

Preheat oven to 350°.

Add paper liners to a 12 muffin pan. Spray liners with cooking spray.

Whisk to combine flour, potato starch, baking powder, and salt in small mixing bowl.

Cream sugar and butter until consistency of wet sand.

Add egg and egg white separately, beating well after each addition.

Add flour a little at a time, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with flour.

Fold in coconut and vanilla.

Divide batter evenly between 12 muffin cups, and bake for 18 minutes, or until muffins spring back when touched in the center. My flexible muffin pans required several more minutes to bake.

Cool a couple of minutes in pan, then remove to wire rack and cool completely.

Icing:

3 T butter, room temperature

1 tsp. Half and half

One-half tsp. Grated lime zest

1 T fresh lime juice

One and one-third cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Combine butter, half and half, lime zest and lime juice in medium bowl, and beat until smooth.

Gradually add sugar, beating until smooth.

Frost each cupcake.

(For added coconut, pour about a half cup shredded coconut into a bowl, and dip the top of each frosted cupcake into coconut.)

Beer Can Chicken

1 (12 oz.) can of beer

1 (3-4 lb.) chicken for roasting

2 tsp. garlic salt

2 tsp. coarsely ground pepper

2 T fresh thyme, coarsely chopped

1 T fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped

2 T olive oil

Juice of one lime.

Prepare grill to medium heat for indirect cooking.

Rinse chicken inside and out and dry with paper towels.

Rub the olive oil all over chicken.

Mix salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary.

Rub chicken inside and out with savory mix. Gently push some of the rub under the skin.

Remove entire top from beer can and pour out about one-third of the beer.

Place chicken cavity down over beer can and sit can in aluminum pie pan.

Pull coals to side, leaving a cleared center indirect heat area.

Place chicken on grill and cover. Cook for about 1 ½ hours, or until meat thermometer placed in thigh part of chicken registers 180 degrees and juices run clear.

Carefully remove chicken from grill. Remove chicken from beer can and place on separate plate (be very careful when discarding hot beer). Pour any drippings from pan over chicken. Drizzle with lime juice. Cover with foil and let rest for about ten minutes before slicing.

Grilled Fish Fajaitas with Slaw and Salsa

~2 lbs. mild, fleshy fish (ie Tilapia, mahi, flounder)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil to coat fish

1 tsp. Each salt and pepper

flour tortillas

Sauce:

1 cup fresh basil

1 cup fresh cilantro

Three-fourths cup orange juice

One-fourth cup lime juice

1 tsp. salt

One-half tsp. pepper

1 T honey

One-half cup extra virgin olive oil

Coat each piece of fish with oil, then sprinkle both side with salt and pepper.

Prepare grill for medium heat. Scrape grill top to clean, and brush with oil. Grill fish over direct heat on each side for about four minutes, depending on thickness of fish.

Put all sauce ingredients into a food processor and pulse until smooth.

Remove fish from grill and top with a little of the sauce. Lightly cover the fish with foil and let it rest while you grill the tortillas.

Serve fish in tortillas with more sauce, Cilantro Slaw* and Avocado Salsa*.

*Cilantro Slaw

One-fourth cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 cups shredded red cabbage

2 chopped green onions

One-fourth cup seasoned rice wine vinegar

2 T extra virgin olive oil

1 T sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix vinegar, olive oil, sugar, salt and pepper. Pour over cabbage, cilantro and green onions and toss to mix.

*Avocado Salsa

1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes

One-half cup chopped sweet onion

One-fourth cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 Avocado, peeled and diced

zest and juice of one lime

salt to taste

Gently stir all salsa ingredients together.

Grilling Favorites for Father's Day

Do you need a new grilling recipe for Father's Day? I have a few tried and true recipes and some grilling tips for guaranteed success. Mix and match menus by using the basic recipe as the entree, the main ingredient in a specialty sandwich (quesadilla, taco, etc), or the foundation of a full meal salad.

Grilling is by far my favorite way to entertain during the summer months. From a grilled flank steak (London broil or skirt steak) it's easy to go to a layered steak salad, sliced beef on grilled flat bread with a complimentary salsa, or a steak quesadilla--several different meals from one basic recipe.

The same holds true for grilled fish. Grilled Fish Taco with Cilantro Slaw and Avocado Salsa could certainly be served more formally by adding cheese polenta or grits to the plate as the base for your fish. Top with avocado salsa, and add a little marinated red cabbage on the side to finish the dish. For a casual get together, have all the ingredients ready along with grilled flour tortillas, and let your guests become creative.

Grilled pork tenderloin is equally versatile. From the more formal presentation to the delicious salad meal incorporating orange slices, avocado, and salad greens, or a cubano sandwich featuring the thinly sliced pork, provolone cheese , and plenty of pickles, you have a variety of meals from one basic recipe.

And then there's the humble chicken. Beer Can Chicken continues to be high on my list of favorite ways to grill chicken. I don't know the history of this grilling technique, but I do have a mental image: friends camping together, enjoying a beverage, with a chicken to cook for dinner, and no clear idea of how to accomplish the task. Coudos to those friends! Propping the chicken on a half filled can of beer resulted in a deliciously moist chicken with wonderful grilled flavor. And the uses for the cooked chicken are limitless.

Don't forget dessert! Grilling fresh fruit caramelizes the fruit giving it a more concentrated sweet flavor. Sliced peaches and pineapple are my favorites. Serve with the ice cream of your choice for a grilled fruit parfait. Or lightly grill flour tortillas, brush top with butter, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, and add grilled fruit for a grilled fruit fajita.

Choose your favorite recipes, perfect the techniques, and make this an easy, grilling summer.

Skirt Steak on Grilled Flatbread with Corn and Bean Salsa

(6 servings)

One and one-half lb. Skirt steak (may substitute flank steak)

Rub:

1 tsp. Cumin

One-half tsp. Salt

One-half tsp. Pepper

Mix cumin, salt and pepper. Sprinkle evenly over back and front sides and rub into meat.

Marinade:

1 T dried Italian herbs

2 T chopped fresh cilantro

Zest and juice from one lime

2 T Worcestershire sauce

One-half tsp. Salt

One-half tsp. Pepper

1 tsp. Cumin

3 T extra virgin olive oil

Mix marinade ingredients. Place rubbed skirt steak in ziplock bag, pour in marinade, turn to coat meat. Seal bag and place in refrigerator for 4 hours, or overnight.

Remove meat from marinade, and grill over medium heat for 2-3 minutes per side (medium rare), or to desired doneness. Place meat on platter and cover until cooled. Slice thinly across the grain. Place meat in another ziplock bag and pour any juices from platter over meat. Refrigerate if not using right away (can be made the day before or earlier in the day).

Corn and Bean Salsa

1 (15oz.) can black beans

1 (15 oz.) can sweet corn kernels

One-half cup chopped red onion

2 T chopped fresh cilantro

Zest and juice of one lime

One-half tsp. Salt, pepper and cumin

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 T extra virgin olive oil

Rinse and drain beans and corn. Add onions. Mix cilantro, lime zest and juice, salt, pepper, cumin, Worcestershire sauce and olive oil. Combine with beans, corn and onions in ziplock bag. Refrigerate if not using right away.

Sandwich:

6 White flour pita flatbreads

1 T extra virgin olive oil

Whole grain mustard

Mixed baby lettuce

3 Italian tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Brush both sides of each flatbread lightly with olive oil. Grill on both sides, or brown in pan over medium heat on stove.

Wrap grilled flatbread in foil and set aside until ready to use.

To make sandwiches spread one side of each flatbread with mustard. Add lettuce, tomato slices, beef, cheese, and a couple of tablespoons of Corn and Bean Salsa. Fold bread, and enjoy!