Thursday's Grill Gadget- June 13th 2013

Golf Caddy BBQ Set

If your passions are golfing and grilling pick up this set for Father's Day. Your father or husband would love it! Mix Golf + BBQ to create the perfect guy gift. This golf themed BBQ tool set comes complete with golf grip handles.

Wednesday What's For Dinner- June 12th 2013

Teriyaki Shrimp Skewers

Ingredients: 

Stonewall Kitchen Garlic Teriyaki Sauce

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

48 peeled and deveined shrimp

32 pieces of fresh cubed pineapple

1 medium red onion, cut into 8 wedges

cooking spray

Preparation:

1. Prepare grill.
2. To prepare sauce, combine teriyaki sauce and sesame seeds in a small bowl.
3. To prepare kebabs, thread 6 shrimp, 4 pineapple chunks, and 1 onion wedge alternately onto each of 8 (10-inch) skewers. Brush kebabs with teriyaki mixture. Place kebabs on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 8 minutes or until shrimp are done, turning once.

Meatless Monday- June 10th 2013

A Healthy Alternative...

Portobello Mushroom Burger

Burgers are great in all but it is recommended that you opt out of meat one day a week.  Follow this rule by swapping out beef with mushrooms! Mushrooms are so much easier to grill too.

Ingredients:

4 portobello mushrooms, stems on
2 teaspoons grill seasoning
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 cup grated Cheddar
1/4 cup mayonnaise
4 hamburger buns, toasted
4 leaves romaine lettuce
1 tomato, sliced


Directions
Rub the mushroom caps with a damp cloth to clean. Remove stems.

In a small bowl combine the grill seasoning, oil, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar. Brush over the mushrooms making sure to coat completely. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the marinade for the aioli.

Heat a grill pan or outdoor grill on medium heat. Put the mushrooms gill side down onto the grill and grill about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. After you flip the mushrooms top each with 2 tablespoons of Cheddar.

While the mushrooms are grilling, make the aioli sauce by combining the remaining 2 tablespoons of the marinade with the mayonnaise in a small bowl. Spread each hamburger bun with aioli sauce. Remove mushrooms from the grill and serve on the toasted buns with lettuce and tomato slices.

Sunday's Appetizers- June 9th 2013

Meatball Sliders

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1/2 pound ground veal
• 1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)*
• 1/2 cup water
• 8 tablespoons freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese, divided
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/4 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds
• 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 14.5-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes

• Arugula leaves (optional)
• 18 small soft rolls, split horizontally

• Directions: 

Mix all meats, panko, 1/2 cup water, 6 tablespoons cheese, egg, egg yolk, 1/4 cup parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper in large bowl. Form into eighteen 2-inch-meatballs.

Heat vegetable oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, fry meatballs until brown all over. Transfer to plate. Pour off drippings from skillet. Reduce heat to medium. Add olive oil to skillet. Add onion, garlic, basil, and fennel seeds. Sauté until onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Add all tomatoes with juices. Bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Reduce heat to low, cover with lid slightly ajar, and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Puree sauce in processor until almost smooth. Return to same skillet. Add meatballs. Cover with lid slightly ajar and simmer until meatballs are cooked through, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes longer. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.

Place arugula leaves on bottom of each roll, if desired. Top each with 1 meatball. Drizzle meatballs with some of sauce and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons parsley and 2 tablespoons. cheese. Cover with tops of rolls.

Friday What's For Lunch- June 7th 2013

National Doughnut Day!

In lieu of National Doughnut Day, prepare delectable doughnuts as a snack, for lunch, or for dinner!

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups warm milk, 95 to 105 degrees (divided)
1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
2 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
5 cups all-purpose flour (alternately, white whole wheat might work - haven't tried it yet)
A pinch or two of nutmeg, freshly grated
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions: 

Place 1/3 cup of the warm milk in the bowl of an electric mixer. Stir in the yeast and set aside for five minutes or so. Be sure your milk isn't too hot or it will kill the yeast. Stir the butter and sugar into the remaining cup of warm milk and add it to the yeast mixture. With a fork, stir in the eggs, flour, nutmeg, and salt - just until the flour is incorporated. With the dough hook attachment of your mixer beat the dough for a few minutes at medium speed. This is where you are going to need to make adjustments - if your dough is overly sticky, add flour a few tablespoons at a time. Too dry? Add more milk a bit at a time. You want the dough to pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl and eventually become supple and smooth. Turn it out onto a floured counter-top, knead a few times (the dough should be barely sticky), and shape into a ball.

Transfer the dough to a buttered (or oiled) bowl, cover, put in a warm place (I turn on the oven at this point and set the bowl on top), and let rise for an hour or until the dough has roughly doubled in size.

Punch down the dough and roll it out 1/2-inch thick on your floured countertop. Most people (like myself) don't have a doughnut cutter, instead I use a 2-3 inch cookie cutter to stamp out circles. Transfer the circles to a parchment-lined baking sheet and stamp out the smaller inner circles using a smaller cutter. If you cut the inner holes out any earlier, they become distorted when you attempt to move them. Cover with a clean cloth and let rise for another 45 minutes.

Bake in a 375 degree oven until the bottoms are just golden, 8 to 10 minutes - start checking around 8. While the doughnuts are baking, place the butter in a medium bowl. Place the sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl.

Remove the doughnuts from the oven and let cool for just a minute or two. Dip each one in the melted butter and a quick toss in the sugar bowl. Eat immediately if not sooner.

Makes 1 1/2 - 2 dozen medium doughnuts.

Employee Spotlight- Bake Koletic Thursday June 6th 2013

Blake Koletic

Retail Sales Associate


Hometown: Tampa, FL
How long have you been working at JG? 7 months
Top Sale: $1,400 (Big Green Egg)

Favorite thing about working at JG: The people I work with are awesome and all the people I get to meet and know

Which is Healthier? June 5th 2013

Before you fire up the grill, find out how your summer cookout staples stack up.

Ketchup vs Mustard

Neither of these fat free condiments is a bad choice, but while a tablespoon of ketchup contains 4 grams of sugar and 20 calories, yellow mustard has almost no sugar or calories.  The only downside: Mustard is slightly higher in sodium. 

Winner: Mustard

Sweet Pickles vs Dill Pickles

Sweet pickles have seven times the calrie and more 13 times the sugar content of dills.  Dill pickles contain almost twice as much sodium as sweet pickles, but assuming you don't put too many slices on your burger, they're the better option

Winner: Dill Pickles

Hamburger vs Hot Dog

Franks and quarter pound burgers each contain about 200 calories, but a single hot dog has more than 25% of your maximum daily sodium (compared with only 3% in a burger patty). Most hot dogs are also higher in fat and contain nitrites, preservatives that may increase your cancer risk.

Winner: Hamburger

Potato Chips vs Tortilla Chips

Potato chips are higher in vitamin C- an ounce gives you 10% of your daily reommended intake- but that's their only upside. Tortilla chips are lower in calories, fat, saturated fat, and sodium, and they contain more calcium.  Bonus: the dips you eat with tortilla chips (guacamole and salsa) are more healthful than the standard ranch or sour cream and onion dip. 

Winner: Tortilla Chips

Plain Buns vs Potato Buns

Potato buns have about twice s much sugar as plain (that's why they taste so much sweeter), but they also contain more protein.  Beyond that, the two are almost identical in fat, calorie and fiber counts, so pick the one you like.

Winner: It's a draw