16-Spice Chicken from Mesa Grill

Prep 10 min   Cook 12 min   Eat 22 min

16-Spice Chicken

This 16-Spice Chicken from Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill Cookbook is unbelievably good. You’ll want to be grilling all summer with this spice blend once you taste it.  Mix up the blend, place it in a spice jar and you’ll have enough for most of the summer, making dinner a cinch on those long hot nights.  Perfect for pot-luck barbecues too.

African Peanut Stew

African Peanut Stew

If you are looking for something to shake up your dinner repertoire, this African Peanut Stew is it!  This unique Fresh Food in a Flash recipe filled with vegetables will have your family asking for more of this healthy dish.  On top of delicious, it’s super easy to make. A one-pot meal.  What more do you want?  Maybe some biscuits or fresh made bread to go with it?  OK, check out my One-Minute French Baguette Dough for another delicious twist.

How to Roast a Red Pepper…yellow, orange or green.

Roasting peppers at home rewards you in so many ways.  The aroma of roasting peppers with the smoke enveloping your room will make you hungry in a healthy way.  Sure, you can buy roasted red peppers in a jar, but there is nothing like the real deal…and it couldn’t be easier to make roasted red peppers.  All you need is about 20 minutes of advance time when you are hanging out or getting the rest of your meal prepped.   Many homes have a gas grill or a gas cooktop, which is the perfect method, but you could roast them under a broiler or in the oven on a baking sheet at 400° if you have no other choice, although it will take a little more time.

Mesa Grill’s Blue and Yellow Corn Muffins

One of the ingredients that defines Southwestern cuisine is its blue corn.  That’s why I knew we had to make these Blue and Yellow Corn Muffins from Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill in our Southwestern Fiesta Cooking Class.

Corn Chowder – Vegetarian, with Bacon or Salt Pork

I’ve made this Corn Chowder three times since the beginning of the new year. It’s that good!   I vary it a little each time.  That’s the beauty of it.  I can make it strictly vegetarian, which we did at our Soups, Stews & Bread class in January.  When I make it at home, I start with either bacon or bacon fat or salt pork.  I love the taste of bacon in soups!

Grilled Pizza…no oven mess and a crisp crust!

In preparation for our October 11, 2012 Pizza class, I’m thinking back to our August Garden to Table Cooking Class, when we made the most amazing pizza on the grill.  We used fresh summer vegetables, garden ripe tomatoes, arugula and fresh burrata cheese.  I found that this was a fresh new way to make pizza and not mess up your oven on top of it.

Roasted Eggplant Salsa = Indian Baingan Ka Bharta

Eggplant often gets a bad rap.  On its own, its’ not that interesting a vegetable, but loaded with spices, olive oil and other flavors, it takes on a whole other dimension.  Think of the eggplant as a sponge.  It takes on the flavors that you add to it.  I must admit that before testing this dish, I had never roasted an eggplant.  I’ve thought about the idea, but eggplant slices soaked in olive oil usually end up on my grill and served in many different ways.  That’s the end of it.  But now I think of the beautiful eggplant with its deep purple skin in a whole new way.