Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Grilled LEEKS!!!!

This past weekend was Labor Day.  I don't know about you, but I feel like Labor Day weekend is an official good-bye to summer.  So, the McGhees celebrated by spending the weekend together and outside as much as possible.  

I had big plans for Friday night's dinner.  However, after school on Friday we took the minis to see the movie, The Odd Life of Timothy Green.  If you haven't seen this movie, it comes highly recommended from the McGhee family.  Just remember to bring tissues.  And make sure you push up the arm rests so you can snuggle up.   We left the theater with the "feel-goods" and I don't know about you, but when I have the "feel-goods" I want to relax and enjoy them.  So, we went home, poured some wine, made a fire, stuck a weenie on a stick, and called it dinner.




The minis taking the plunge.  Look at that sunset. 






A (processed) hot dog on a stick.  It's what's for dinner.



Post-dinner diving contest.  The photos are shaky because it is dark out.  I swear, the wine had nothing to do with it.





Roasting marshmallows and holding her baby at the same time.  What a mama.



Rocking her baby to sleep.



Me and my boy with the funny looking foot.



Ah.  What a night.  And I hope you all can forgive me for, yet again, failing on my unprocessed kitchen.  Hot dogs and marshmallows.  For some reason it felt right on that night.

You will be happy to know that I whipped up back into shape the rest of the weekend.  And, as a tribute to the end of summer and BBQ season, I will post my new favorite grilling recipes this week for you.

The first one is grilled leeks.  I sent my minis out to our garden to get some leeks and this is what they came in with.



The only thing I have ever done with leeks is make absurdly addictive asparagus.  And apparently it wasn't that addictive, because I had no desire to make it again this weekend.  But, I remembered a picture I had seen in a magazine of grilled green onions, and I figured if you could grill onions, you could grill leeks.  And, lo and behold, you can!

Grilled leeks 
  • leeks
  • olive oil
  • salt
1.  Cut the leeks at the place where the green goes from whitish-green to green.  Cut length-wise and then again in half.  Wash well under cold water to get any grit out.
2.  Plunge the leeks into boiling water for about 2-3 minutes.  The leeks will turn a real bright green color, that's when they're done.
3.  Plunge the leeks into ice water to stop them from cooking.
4.  Dry the leeks off.
5.  Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt.
6.  Cook in a grill pan on the grill until crispy.  (We experimented, we did some directly on the grill and some in the grill pan.  Putting them directly on the grill gives you nice looking grill marks, but we found they were crispier when done in the pan.  It's your choice.)

Cut here.  


Cut lengthwise and then cut each stalk in half.  Wash well in cold water.



Boil for about 2-3 minutes.  What are those artichokes doing in there?  Coming soon......



Plunge in ice water for about a minute or so to stop the cooking.



Dry off with a paper towel.




Drizzle with oil and salt.


Grill in a grill pan.


Grill until brown and crispy.



This is what I have to say about these grilled leeks.  These are a MUST TRY RECIPE.  They were crispy and delish.  They lasted 30 seconds in our house.  The minis were bonkers over them and Mr. McGhee and I had a hard time sharing.  But we did.  Because we didn't want to listen to the whining are self-less, generous, loving parents.