Summer Sides: Grilled Squash and Polenta

Here are a couple of side dishes that I like to serve when cooking on the grill. Both are wickedly easy, go with just about any grilled dish, and both share the same core ingredients: salt, pepper and olive oil.I prefer using sea salt. It’s much better than regular table salt, and doesn’t pack quite the punch as kosher salt.

First up are yellow squash and zucchini. I usually use on of each for two servings. Just slice the zucchini and squash into thin slices, but not too thin – you want them to hold together while cooking. Place the slices in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper, and stir. Cook them over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes, until they start to get brown and slightly crispy. Flip the chips and cook for another 3-4 minutes. They go great as a side or even as a sandwich topper. I suggest using some sort of grilling tray or even some foil to keep the chips from falling through the grates. They’re very inexpensive and easy to find, usually available in any grocery store or even a Dollar Store . You can cook directly on the grates, but expect at least one or two casualties to fall through.

The second side dish that I grill up regularly is polenta. Polenta is an old world dish made of cornmeal and served several ways. I’ve had it both as a soft dish similar to mashed potatoes and baked like a cornbread. While it is often considered a peasant food, often used back during the depression, it has recently become somewhat of a delicacy. It’ not uncommon that you’ll find it as a pricey appetizer at some of your fancier restaurants. A friend of mine once saw it on a menu for $14.95 and said to me “do you know how many tons of polenta my mother could make for $14.95?!?!” What I like to use is the pre-cooked tubes of polenta, which can be found in the produce section of the grocery store. I simply slice them into about 1/4″ slices, brush both sides with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Again, just place them on the grill at medium hear for about 5-7 minutes until they start to get slightly brown and crispy, flip and cook for another 3-4 minutes. I like to top them with a slice of mozzarella or sharp provolone for the last few minutes, then serve them with either a side of sauce or salsa as a topping. They are absolutely delicious, and you can even pass them off as mini pizza crisps for the kids!

Almond Asparagus

This is a beautiful, great tasting side-dish that works with just about any main course. The crunchy snap of the asparagus holds up well with the lemon juice and butter, and the almonds make for a great, flavorful addition.

ALMOND ASPARAGUS

2 pounds fresh asparagus
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Snap off tough ends of asparagus. Cook asparagus in boiling water to cover 3 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain. Plunge asparagus into ice water to stop the cooking process; drain. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add asparagus, and sauté 3 to 5 minutes. Toss asparagus with lemon juice and remaining ingredients.

Sambuca Shrimp Wrapped in Prosciutto

Here’s an incredible appetizer suggested by my friend and co-worker, Rachel. It’s a top-shelf dish that’s sure to impress your guests — in name, taste and presentation. Plus, anything wrapped in prosciutto has me listening!

I had given this recipe to my friend, Kerry Jo, as a suggestion for a New Year’s Eve party. It went over so well, she immediately decided to make it again for another party. Less preparation time was left for round two, so instead of wrapping the shrimp in prosciutto, she decided to go rustic-style by chopping all of the ingredients and serving it with crackers. Whichever method you decide on, I’m sure it will go over extremely well.

SAMBUCA SHRIMP WRAPPED IN PROSCIUTTO
Submitted by Rachel Renshaw

1 pound large or jumbo shrimp
8 slices of prosciutto (or more, depending on how wrapped you want your shrimp)
Sambuca
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1 TBSP Fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Devein shrimp; peel, leaving tails on. In a shallow baking dish, arrange shrimp in one layer and pour in enough Sambuca to cover shrimp. Marinate for at least 4 hours. Drain shrimp. Combine finely chopped rosemary, 1 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp pepper in bowl. Rub on shrimp. Use prosciutto in strips, tearing these with your hands, wrap and secure with a toothpick.

In a TBSP of olive oil, saute shrimp over medium-high heat until pink through and the prosciutto is crisp.

Stuffed Zucchini

Feeling a bit overstuffed from this past weekend’s food fest? These delicious, healthy, and quite filling stuffed zucchini boats make for a great meal, or even as a nice appetizer for an upcoming holiday dinner party.

I found this recipe in a Rachel Ray cook book…a personally autographed Rachel Ray cook book (15 seconds of celebrity interaction for me, a lifetime’s worth of humiliation and mockery material for my dear friend Jennifer – she’s lucky she sits high on my friendship list). Whether or not you’re a fan of “The Rache,” I highly suggest this dish.

Mama Elsa’s Stuffed Zucchini
Rachael Ray
makes twelve zucchini boats

Six 5-inch zucchini (1 1/2 pounds total)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), 3 turns of the pan, plus more for drizzling

5 garlic cloves, 1 crushed and 4 finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (a couple of pinches)

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 can diced tomatoes (15 ounces), drained and juice reserved

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup dry white wine (a glug)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs (3 generous handfuls)

1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (a couple of generous handfuls)

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (a generous handful)

10 leaves fresh basil, shredded or torn

Preheat the oven to 400°. Halve the zucchini lengthwise and hollow them out with a small scoop or spoon. Drizzle the zucchini boats with a little EVOO and place them in the middle of the oven to roast (they will be ready when you take the stuffing off the heat). Chop the zucchini centers.

Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of EVOO (2 turns of the pan), the crushed garlic clove, the red pepper flakes, the onion and the chopped zucchini. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the zucchini begins to caramelize. Finely chop the tomatoes and add them to the stuffing. Stir until heated through. Season with salt and pepper and deglaze the pan with the glug of white wine. Cook until the wine evaporates, then stir in the reserved tomato juice. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the tomato juice slowly cook off as well.

While the stuffing cooks, heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of EVOO (1 turn of the pan) and the butter. When the butter melts into the oil, add the chopped garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, then add the bread crumbs and lightly toast them, about 2 minutes. Add the cheese, parsley and lots of fresh pepper and remove from the heat.

When the liquid has almost cooked out of the stuffing, stir in the bread crumb mixture and the basil and remove it from the heat. Remove the zucchini from the oven and fill each with a mound of stuffing. Place the boats back in the oven and bake for 5 minutes to crisp the bread crumbs.