Kabobs with Salsa Verde

Now don't get intimidated with the title of this dish. It's just skewered beef with a green cold sauce! 

Half of this recipe came from my butcher, but I thought it needed more. Be honest, what's a barbecue without bacon?? Nothing, you got that right.
So I added bacon, but I wanted to give the meat more taste too. Therefore I thought why not add a rub to this recipe. A real good herb rub for beef I found on the website of Gary Glen. If there's anyone who knows all about the ins and outs of grilling, it's him (yeah don't be shy Gary!) so make sure to check out his great website! I used his Herb Meat Rub, but left out the fennel, since I'm not fond of it, but if you like it of course you can add it!

Let's start!

Ingredients for the kabobs:
beef tenderloin
cherry tomatoes
1 red or white onion, cut into big pieces
thick pieces of bacon, cut into big pieces

Ingredients for the rub:
1 tablespoon ground black pepper  
1 tablespoon non-iodized salt  
1 tablespoon garlic powder  
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper  
1 teaspoon cumin  
1 teaspoon dried marjoram  
1 teaspoon dried oregano 
1 teaspoon dried thyme  
1 teaspoon coriander

Ingredients for the Salsa Verde:
2 pickles
2 filets of anchovies
1 tablespoon capers
1 cup flat parsley, only the leaves
10 basil leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon french mustard
salt and pepper

- Cut the beef in big chunks and add the rub, let this rest for at least 1 hour.
- Put all the ingredients for the Salsa Verde in a blender and let it mix until you have an almost smooth salsa. Place this in the fridge.
- Preheat your grill.
- Skewer the beef together with the onion parts, tomatoes and bacon.

These kabobs don't need a lot of time on your grill (just a few minutes), just make sure you have a real hot fire!

Can you smell the fabulous flavor??

Serve the kabobs with the Salsa Verde, a butter bean salad and bread (on the picture there's green olive bread and regular white bread).

And if you want some wine with this dish, a Nero d'Avola or a Shiraz paires very well!

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and Gary, thank you!!

Surf and Turf Extra

Years ago I had a recipe almost like this, and I loved it! Some weeks ago I came across that same old recipe and was so happy, so I made it the same day. Guess what....it wasn't as good anymore as I thought. In fact, it was one big disappointment.

But, but, but, a miracle happend, yeah well almost....

In a magazine I found a recipe that had the puree as described below plus the beef, and then I knew, this has to be IT!

And there it was, a mixture of two recipes and a little extra. The extra is, yes of course, the tequila.

I used a red chili pepper, including the seeds, so it has a kick, but you can discard the seeds if it's too much for your taste.

Ingredients:

1 red chili pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

olive oil

1/3 cup cilantro, chopped

1 lime

about 7 oz raw large shrimps, peeled and cleaned

2 beef tenderloins

4 oz feta, cut in cubes

tequila

Use a mortar and pestle to make a puree of the chili and bell pepper, add some olive oil, the cilantro and the juice of half a lime. As you can see I didn't pureed it all, I like some chunks of the bell pepper in it.

The tenderloins got a rub with the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Cajun Foreplay Spice Rub (yes I used it again, and I love it!!) and some olive oil. I grilled the meat on the stove, in a cast iron grillpan, but you can do this, of course, also on the grill. Grill them for 5 minutes, then wrap them in aluminium foil and let them rest while you prepare the rest.

In the meantime heat a wok and start heating the pepper puree. Keep the heat high and keep stirring! Add the shrimps, and keep stirring! Add a splash (don't be shy...) of tequila and the feta cheese.

This all should take no longer than 5 minutes.

Unwrap the meat (yeah, really, makes dinner taste much better...) and slice the meat. Serve it with the shrimps and some bread.

I can't describe how it tastes, but trust me, you're gonna luvvv this dish!!!

Last but certainly not the least, uncork a bottle of Shiraz Rosé to complete your meal!

Enjoy!

Fajitas, my way

I have to admit that I never made fajitas before, and now all I can say is that I regret that!! This was really Heaven On A Plate, and maybe it wasn´t exactly the way it should have been made, but as long as a meal makes you feel like this one did....then it´s ok with me!

And because it was so good, I´m gonna make this again on monday....can´t wait!!

The ingredients I used for this recipe:

2 beef tenderloins (you can also use flank steak)

2 avocados, ripe ones

2 cans of sour cream (small cans)

1 package of guacamole mix (I used the brand Santa Maria)

tortillas (I used herbs and garlic tortillas, wow!)

2 large onions (one white, one red)

1 large red bell pepper

1 hot chili pepper (or choose your own favorite)

shredded aged cheese

a few tomatoes

cucumber

First of all, time to light the coals!

Slice the onions and peppers and sprinkle them with some olive oil. They will meet the grill first, before the other ingredients do.

After this it´s time to make the guacamole, that´s easy because all you have to do is mix the avocados with the mix and add 1 can of sour cream. Easy does it! Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole to prevent oxidation. Put this in the fridge.

Then slice the tomatoes and cucumbers and arrange them on a plate with the other can of sour cream.

For the beef I used a barbecue rub from the brand NoMu, this is a South African brand, and they have several rubs. For meat, chicken, fish and vegetables.

Put the onions and peppers on the grill, use direct heat and don´t forget to stir! After 10 minutes you can put the basket away from the heat and start grilling the tenderloins for about 5 minutes.

Wrap the beef in foil and let it rest for a few minutes. And now comes the tricky part, and I screwed up 2 times, no pictures of that! The package of the tortillas said, you should preheat them, then stuff them and then back on the grill.

Don´t. It won´t work, unless you like black tortillas, and I don´t.

Slice the beef and put the pieces on one side of a non-pre-grilled tortilla, add the onions and pepper mixture, sprinkle with a lot of cheese and place this carefully (!) on the grill, not using direct heat! Close the lid and wait a minute, do a check if the cheese is melting and then move it over to your plate!

Add guacamole and sour cream and then......

no further comment, I loved it.........

Oh I almost forgot to serve some wine with it, a rosé this time, a dry french one:

For your information: it wasn´t empty when I bought it!

And now, please excuse me, I´m gonna dream about these fajitas......make them!