Lots of grilling adventures

Summer always puts me in the mood for easy, quick meals that don't heat up the house too much - at least until I get bitten by the baking bug. But that's usually only once a month or so. While I don't have any pictures to post of my recent cooking adventures, I do have recipes.

One of the best and quickest things that I tried this week was a recipe for grilled pork chops. I had some bone-in quick fry (less than 1/2 inch thick) chops from Whole Foods and wanting an easy recipe that didn't require marination, I went to the Internet. Whole Foods' website actually provided this recipe. It calls for salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil. I just rubbed the chops with the salt and pepper. On a whim, I added some chopped thyme to the oil and brushed it onto the pork chops. Then I let them sit for a few minutes while I heated up my grill. Since the chops were thin, I had to be careful to not cook them too long, about 2 minutes a side. To make extra sure, I took a meat thermometer and stuck it into the chop near the bone to check that it measured up to 140 degrees. I served the chops with sauteed zucchini, pasta with tomato and basil sauce and an arugula and mache salad with lemon dressing and parmesan cheese.

The second recipe of the week was for grilled salmon with lime butter from the Epicurious website. The trickiest part was making the lime butter. The recipe for the lime butter called for mixing together in a blender:

1 large garlic clove, chopped
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted

Before squeezing the limes I also zested them to toss onto the salmon after it was cooked. To cook the salmon, I seasoned it with salt and pepper and placed them on an oiled grill. I think I actually overcooked them because the pieces were a little dry. I would suggest cooking the pieces for 2 minutes a side. After they were cooked, I put the lime zest and the butter on them. I served the salmon with rice, guacamole and salad.

With the preparations for the wedding going on in full force, there hasn't been much time for me to do elaborate meals like the ones I've written about in the past. Hard to believe that in another week the wedding will be done and we'll be headed to Montana.