Our Saturday Cookout

History:
So yes, Clark and I have not been cooking that much. And it does make us sad, but Clark was off this past weekend, the girls were coming up, and the weather is nice. So why not cook out and invite people over? This is a joint cooking adventure [like most are], and so I'll try to write up what I was in charge of.

Kabobs
I've been waiting to post this recipe for so long and now I'm doing it when it's hidden among a bunch of other stuff and I'm adding it in about 2 months after when we actually did it. Gee, I'm sure everyone will appreciate this. This is one of my favorite recipes. The flavor on these things is fantastic.
You need:
on the skewer
a couple lbs of meat. It should be made with lamb, but Anita won't let me live my life the way I want to and lamb is kind of expensive, so I always use beef. I generally by a large cut and cut it into somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 inch cubes.
red pepper, green pepper, yellow pepper, chopped
cherry tomatoes
red onion, chopped
anything else you want on the skewers

Marinade
1 onion, thinly sliced
fresh mint, parsley, ~1/2 cup each and tbsp thyme
juice of 2 lemons
cumin
paprika
pinch of chili flakes
garlic

Combine the marinade ingredients and marinate the meat overnight. If using wood skewers, make sure and soak them in water for several hours (just do it in the morning when you get up) to keep them from burning on the grill.
Remove the meat from the marinade. Skewer it with your veggies. Grill. Eat.
Hamburgers
*see previous post*

Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic Hummus
*see previous post*

Roasted Corn and Pablano Salsa

Roast the 3sh ears of corn and 2-3 pablano peppers on a grill. Chop up and put with one onion, 5-7 tomatoes, salt, pepper, tablespoonish of sugar, and 1/2 lime juice. Chill until ready to eat. Enjoy... this really is good, and makes great nachos days later.

Raita
I don't know that this is a true raita, but that's what I'm calling it. Very simple, delicious yogurt sauce you can use to cut the heat on some spicy food, or just to add some flavor. Make it up at least an hour before serving.
You need:
about 1 cup of yogurt
1 cucumber, small dice
1 onion, small dice
a little salt and white pepper
pinch of paprika
mint and parsley, chopped

Mix all the ingredients together and chill for at least 1 hour. Goes great with the kabobs and the flatbread recipe

Coffee Ice Cream

*See previous post on ice cream*

Chocolate Pie

*See previous post*

A Jake/Reinhart/Clark Loaf of Bread

Stuffed Tomatoes

Guess what. These are awesome.
You need:
about 5 tomatoes. The vine ripe ones do really well. I wouldn't use roma as you kind of need the round shape, although I guess you could cut them long ways.
Fresh oregano, basil, and parsley
breadcrumbs
garlic
olive oil

Slice the tomatoes in half along the equator. Scoop out the seeds and insides and place in a roasting pan.
Add minced garlic to the bottom of each. Chop and add fresh herbs. Fill the rest of the way with breadcrumbs. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, drizzle with oil and bake on 350 for about 30-40 min. You're done.
Goes great with fresh bread.


Sweet Potatoes Chips

Use a mandolin or food processor with attachment to finely slice up a couple of peeled sweet potatoes. Fry until crispy, s/p. Enjoy.

Lemon Bars with Meringue [TK]
This was my highlight of the night. The presentation was awesome... I should have torched on the table.... Great taste, I think Clark and Jenny ate about 1/2 between themselves. I really enjoyed making this.

Crust:
5.25 onces of butter (10.5 tablespoons)
1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1.75 cups of ap flour

Cream the butter and sugar with the vanilla. Slowly add the flour... this should form a mass, but not be a sticky dough. Roll into a rectangle, wrap in plastic wrap and then chill for at least 30 minutes. Use a rolling pin, and roll it out to fall into a probably 9 x 6 baking dish... TK calls for 12 x 16... whatever size dish you have because the filling will go in this. Keep the dough on parchment paper when you put it in the dish. Chill again, and then bake at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes... at about 5 minutes poke the dough with a fork to let the steam out so it does not puff up.

Filling:
1 cup fresh lemon juice [add squeeze this... it is worth it for the extra flavor]
6 large eggs
6 large egg yolks
1.25 cups of sugar
4.5 ounces (9 tablespoons) of butter

Combine everything, but the butter, in a double boiler and cook until thick. Add the butter in parts off the heat until it is all in. Strain the curd into the crust. Place a oil-sprayed parchment paper on top, and then wrap in plastic wrap. Put in the freezer for many hours [until at least frozen]. I did this the night before.

Prior to serving cut the edges with the crust off to ensure the presentation is spot on.

Meringue:
1.25 cups of sugar and 2.3 tablespoons of sugar
1/4 cup of water
3 large egg whites

Combine the 1.25 cups of sugar and water in a pot and heat until boiling. Whip the egg whites until foaming, then add the 2.3 tablespoons of sugar, and continue until you have soft peaks. While mixing slowly add the simple syrup and continue to whip until the bowl is cool and stiff peaks are formed. Place this in a gallon bag like we do our eclairs to pipette onto the lemon bars. Do little rows of spirals.

And now pictures (thanks anita for getting us a camera again):


The Finished Product!