Category Archives: All Recipes

Winning 4th of July Grill-outs!

Posted on June 29, 2011 by | 1 Comment

While summer is often thought to be the season of lighter fare, one look at a typical cook-out proves this conventional wisdom false. Calorie laden burgers, sausages and the cold treats and beverages that accompany them are typical menu items at many back-yard barbecues and neighborhood grill-outs.

For a winning July 4th grill-out, add tasty options that are not so heavy. turkey burgers and marinated turkey tenders have proven to be real crowd pleasers. There are many ways to customize either dish. Turkey Tenderloin can be grilled alone, or in a festive kabob-style with vegetables of your choice while many flavor enhancers liven up turkey burgers once thought as bland.

For best flavor, use lump charcoal if you’re grilling on a Weber or other charcoal grill. It produces higher heat and gives food a great smoky character. Soaked mesquite wood chips will produce a similar smoky flavor if you prefer to use a gas grill. Both of these are now widely available at many grocers.

Get inspiration with these ideas to create your Best July 4th Cook out with tasty turkey burgers and tenders:

Share with us your winning 4th of July grill tips. And Happy July 4th from all of us at gThankYou!

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Posted in Turkey Gift Certificates, Turkey Recipes

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What’s Your Best Grilling Adventure?

Posted on June 29, 2011 by | 1 Comment

National Dairy Month is winding down here in America’s Dairyland, a month in which we celebrate all things milk related. There were gigantic breakfasts served on farms across the state during June weekends, each showcasing the best dairy products produced right here behind the Cheddar Curtain. (Ice cream sundae for breakfast anyone?)

To create a real grilling adventure, and in honor of dairy month this year, I decided last weekend to try my hand at actually grilling our Grilled Cheese sandwich. Why not? The best Grilled Cheese from our kitchen is done on a cast iron grill pan made to mimic a grill grate. Besides, most things just taste better when done on a grill. I think Martha Stewart says it best:

“The tastiest grilled-cheese sandwiches aren’t prepared in the kitchen in a frying pan. They’re made on a grill.”

Equipped with the finest cheese, bread and butter we could find on our local grocer’s shelves, I set to the task. I spread the coals to one side of our Webber grill, thinking the indirect heat method would grill our sandwich to perfection. Buttering the external side of each bread slice, I placed Marieke Gouda cheese, thin-sliced tomatoes and a thick slice of ham between them and placed it on our grill.

It only took about two minutes per side, and was, indeed, the best grilled twist on a classic that I think we’ve discovered so far. Include any of your favorite ingredients: smoked turkey and grilled veggies are on my list of next items to include.

If you need a little more instruction, there are some sites that take you through the steps:

Happy Dairy Month! Enjoy and please send us your best grilling adventure.

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Posted in All Recipes, Grocery Gift Certificates

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gThankYou! Guide to the Best Summer Grilling – Grill Your Vegetables

Posted on June 13, 2011 by | 2 Comments

An early-season heat wave here has us throwing just about everything we wanted to cook on our grill this past week. Groceries I never imagined would grill up nice and tasty have become some of my family’s new favorites. Many of them come from the produce department.Grilled Asparagus, Peppers, Onions, Chevre

Grilling vegetables intensifies and can change the very character of their flavor profile. We used a lot of plentiful and in-season veggies stocking grocers’ shelves now. According to the folks at Cooks Illustrated, grilling vegetables has become more common. They’re a quick and easy dish, not to mention very tasty:

“In general, vegetables should be cut to expose the maximum surface area to the grill, which helps them cook quickly and thoroughly. Smaller vegetables, such as cherry tomatoes and button mushrooms, need to be skewered to keep them from falling through the grill, as do slices of some larger vegetables like onions.”

Great vegetables to grill include zucchini and summer squash, endive and radicchio, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, fennel, asparagus, eggplant, beets – the list is almost endless.

Corn is also fantastic! Soak it in the husk (pull out the silks prior to soaking) for several hours and pop the ears right on the hot coals, turning frequently to steam the corn and intensify the flavor. Add a small lump of herbed butter inside the husk prior to grilling for a real treat.

Testers at Cooks Illustrated recommend using thin metal skewers to evenly, but bamboo skewers will work just as well if you soak them in water prior to use. Another method we like: heavy aluminum foil or an aluminum pie tin. If using aluminum foil, make it into a tray, folding up the sides. A pie tin works well if you poke small holes in the bottom. Place the foil or pie tin on top of your grill grate, and let the heat, turning often.Zucchini Grilling

Regardless of your method – skewer, foil or pie tin – brush your veggies with olive oil or flavored oil prior to grilling.

Have a great time experimenting with grilled vegetables. Use them as a side dish or add them to pasta or sandwiches. Here are a few recipes to get you started:

Please share your favorite grilled veggie concoctions with us here and happy summer eating to all!

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Posted in All Recipes

Go Big with Grilled Turkey

Posted on May 25, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Summer arrives – regardless of the weather outlook – this weekend with Memorial Day. That means cookouts, barbecues and outdoor get-together season will also be in full swing. For my money, there’s no better way to feed a crowd and put on a memorable Memorial Day cook-out than by grilling a turkey.

Grilled turkey makes a big splash for several reasons.

  1. It’s delish, regardless of the recipe you choose. This is the top way to make the tastiest turkey ever.
  2. It’s special. A real departure from the burgers and dogs on most grills.
  3. It’s dead simple. Again, regardless of the recipe, grilling your big bird is easy on the cook, so you can enjoy your holiday.

Grilled turkey has proven to be a real pleaser at our summertime gatherings. Fire up the grill and get ready for the cook-out season ahead with these ideas:

Send in your best tips on turkey grilling. And if you have a favorite rub or other way to prep your turkey for grilling, share that, too. Happy Memorial Day weekend!

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Posted in All Recipes, Preparing Whole Turkey, Turkey Recipes

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Where do you insert a meat thermometer in ham?

Posted on April 20, 2011 by | 1 Comment

For food safety, a good meat thermometer is an essential kitchen tool. It’s just as important to know how to use it properly. This is the topic of much confusion and consternation. Fret not! We’ll clear it up with a common sense tips on where to insert the meat thermometer in your Holiday Ham.

Tip # 1: Always use a meat thermometer when baking ham. This applies regardless whether you’re baking a partially cooked or fully cooked ham. It will tell precisely when your ham is done avoiding over-cooked, dry hams or undercooked meat – which can cause foodborne illness.

You can’t guess at ham doneness by eyeballing or using general per-pound oven cooking times. Ovens vary too greatly, as to peoples’ eyeball perception of doneness.

Tip #2: Use the thermometer of your choice. There are many types of meat and food thermometers on the market. Choose the one you feel the most comfortable using. They’ll all do the job.

Tip #3: Insert the thermometer probe into the thickest part of the meat, avoiding the bone. For any bone-in ham, the thickest part is going to be the cut portion of the ham. But when baking a ham, it’s by far best to bake it cut side down to preserve juices. This is necessary if you’re cooking a spiral sliced ham. Solve this dilemma by inserting the thermometer at an angle from above into the thick portion below, while being careful to not insert too far to hit the bone.

Read more about meat thermometers and food safety from the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Enjoy your Holiday Ham, and please share with us your best tips on using a meat thermometer with Ham.

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Posted in All Recipes, Ham Recipes

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Ham Glazes that Pop

Posted on April 18, 2011 by | Leave a comment

If you’re looking for a different ham glazes to jazz up your Holiday Ham this year, try a glaze with real pop.

Peculiar as it may sound, soda pop is a tried and true ingredient in many ham glaze variations, used in recipes by such celebrity cooks as Emeril Lagasse and Nigella Lawson. These concoctions use nearly any pop, any brand found on your grocer’s shelves – colas, ginger ales and lemon-lime sodas, orange, cherry, even diet soda to cut the calories (you get the picture).

What’s the benefit of adding pop? That carbonation in the soda acts to cut the sharpness of the salty flavor of some hams. This is a big plus particularly if your taste buds react more strongly to sodium.

The most basic ham glaze contains a type of sugar (brown or maple sugar are common), an acidic liquid (such as vinegar) and flavoring agents for subtle or bold tang and spice – depending on your preference. In these, the soda replaces the vinegar and adds flavor as well.

Here are some to get you thinking:

Use these to add pop to your glaze or experiment with your own soda pop ham glazes, then share with us the results.

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Posted in All Recipes, Ham Gift Certificates, Ham Recipes

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The #1 Best Tasting Way to Prepare Ham

Posted on April 6, 2011 by | 1 Comment

A nicely cooked ham is beautiful to behold. But how do you prepare the absolute, #1 Best Tasting Ham? Borrowing advice from the ham-savvy Serious Eats Food Lab, it’s easy: 1) Buy the right ham, and 2) Don’t screw it up. Fair enough.

But, seriously, ham needn’t be a complex dish. With these simple tips, you’re guaranteed to have success.

Know your ham. Many are probably unaware of the different types of ham available. Most of the hams sold in grocery stores are of the city ham variety (there are also country hams and fresh hams). You’ll recognize them filling chilled meat cases everywhere you look this month as people shop for their Holiday Ham. City hams are brined then either smoked or boiled to be moist and tender. Most are partially or fully cooked and come in a variety of choices – bone in, spiral cut, etc.

What to buy. Since most people in the U.S. choose city hams, we’ll focus on them here. There are many fine city hams to choose. One absolute: bone-in hams are more flavorful. Period. Plus, the bone makes a great soup stock.

What’s the word on water content? The more water added to the product, the less your ham will taste like a ham and it will have less of a meat-like texture. Aim for the highest protein to water ratio that you can afford, and remember this is the season for great ham deals at many markets.

Cook it right. You might think there’s little to cooking a ham. You’re mostly right, but a couple simple tips will help you nail it perfectly the first time. Note that regardless whether you choose a fully or partially cooked ham, cooking it is essential. For the former, it will enhance its flavor and juiciness. For the latter, it’s necessary.

Baking your ham is the hands-down best way to prepare it. Wrap your ham in aluminum foil, and place it in an oven bag cut side down inside a roasting pan. This method helps prevent you from inadvertently drying out your ham and is worth the effort.

If it’s a spiral-cut ham, it’s particularly important to place the ham in your roasting pan facing cut side down so the cut slices do not flop apart, dry and ruin your dish.

A partially cooked ham will need to cook 20 minutes per pound at about 350 degrees (175 celsius).A fully cooked ham will take less time, about 10 minutes per pound, to heat through.

Since ovens and hams vary, use a meat thermometer to gauge exactly when the ham is done. For accuracy, it’s important to know exactly where to insert the thermometer probe in your ham. Choose the center of the thickest part of your ham avoiding the bone. I usually go in at an angle from above,

You’ll know your ham is ready to come out of the oven when your thermometer reads about 140-degrees. It will continue to cook while it rests and stopping at this point will keep your ham juicy. The recommended rest period is 30 minutes, tented under foil, prior to slicing and serving.

That’s it! With these few simple steps you can choose, cook and serve the perfect Holiday Ham or Ham dinner any time. Share your tips with us here.

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Posted in Ham Recipes

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Eat Healthier with Ham Soup

Posted on March 29, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Springtime means renewal, and for many that means taking a fresh approach to eating healthier. Count hearty ham and bean soup with a good dose of veggies among the healthy spring offerings.

High school kids in Charleston, South Carolina, helped create a recipe for a ham soup that was recently named among the semi-finalists in a nation-wide contest to create a healthy school lunch dish. The Recipes for Kids Challenge competition is part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign to end childhood obesity.

Brainstorming about what to add to their submission in the legume category to make it attractive to students, kids on the team suggested adding ham, according to the write-up in the Charleston Post & Courier.

The team, made up of students, a chef, and a representative from Slow Food Charleston and from the Medical University of South Carolina came up with Confetti Soup. Among other things, it incorporates loads of vegetables – including the health-food star, kale – with black eyed peas and turkey ham. And there are many lean ham choices that add great flavor and nutrition to soups and other dishes.

This soup is among five of the semi-finalists in the legumes category. View all 15 semi-final recipes. Try them, then vote for your favorite.

It’s just another great example of why we love ham soup. It’s good and good for you.

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Posted in Ham Recipes, Ham Soups

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Fun facts to celebrate Pi Day

Posted on March 14, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Servers at the Hubbard Avenue Diner, our favorite local pie shop, wear clever T-shirts bearing the Greek letter pi π, which stands for the mathematical ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter: 3.1415926535, (et cetera, et cetera, et cetera). 

Remember learning about this number in geometry class, and competing to be the one who could memorize the most digits (now calculated by computer to surpass one trillion digits following the decimal-wow!)?

Today (3/14) is Pi Day. For fun and to honor this endlessly fascinating number, we offer here some interesting pi information. Absorb these facts while enjoying a slice of your favorite pie (Blueberry Crumble for me).

Enjoy your pi day. And please share with us your favorite pi fact and way to celebrate Pi Day.

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Posted in All Recipes, Pie Gift Certificates

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Super Ham for your Super Bowl Table

Posted on February 4, 2011 by | 2 Comments

For some, it’s all about the football. Others love it for the wacky ad spots. But for many, food is an important part of any Super Bowl.

Ham and Cheese Pretzel Bites

With the Green Bay Packers playing the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl 45 this year, more people we know are hosting big parties with big eats. Planning our menu this week, I was reminded that ham is the perfect centerpiece for your Super Snack Table, regardless of whether you favor Green and Gold or Gold and Black.

Here are some tasty and fun ways to add ham to your Super Table this year:

Which team has the best eats? I won’t speculate, but plenty of others have weighed in on this food fight, including the Mouse House Kitchen.  What’s your take?

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Posted in All Recipes, Ham Recipes

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